Joan Lindsay

*Now a six-part TV series starring Natalie Dormer, from Amazon Prime* A 50th-anniversary edition of the landmark novel about three "gone girls" that inspired the acclaimed 1975 film, featuring a foreword by Maile Meloy, author of Do Not Become Alarmed It was a cloudless summer day in the year 1900. Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of the secluded volcanic outcropping. Farther, higher, until at last they disappeared. They never returned. . . . Mysterious and subtly erotic, Picnic at Hanging Rock inspired the iconic 1975 film of the same name by Peter Weir. A beguiling landmark of Australian literature, it stands with Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides as a masterpiece of intrigue.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Joan Lindsay       

While the narration struggled to keep my attention at several points, there are two things this novel does very well and deserves a good rating for. One is the beautiful and atmospheric prose. The other is the excellent exploration of the consequences of a single event on a community. On that account, the disappearance of the girls and their teacher is less of a cause to the unfolding tragedies and more of a trigger that exposes the underlying issues within Appleyard College; it takes secondary place to what it says about the characters embroiled in it, their relatonship with each other and the Australian continent.

Beautiful setting, mood and an unresolved mystery. 

Joel Andersson

Sarah Sammis

The book like the film is mostly one of setting and mood. People disappear and people die. Strange coincidences or supernatural influences? Interpretation is left up to the reader / viewer.

Katie

i wanted to love this but it didn't do much for me. the first half of the book is amazing - i love the imagery and metaphysical & psychedelic eeriness - but it seems like the second half could have been omitted entirely? nothing happens, and i felt like the characters living in the aftermath of the picnic had no depth and distinction, so i didn't really care how they were affected. it ended up feeling contrived and half-baked, which is unfortunate because the concept is great.

'Don't worry about us, Mam'selle dear,' smiled Miranda. 'We shall only be gone a very little while.' But they weren't. By turns eerie, haunting and thrilling, Joan Lindsay's story of vanishing schoolgirls is one of Australia's greatest mysteries. Every so often, there comes a story so brilliant and lively and moving that it cannot be left in the past. Rediscover the magic of our country's most memorable children's books in the Penguin Australia Chlidren's Classics series of stories too precious to leave behind.

Abby Beatrice Quick

Such a treat to read. All of the lush imagery made me excited to go back to Australia in a few months... Although perhaps I'll avoid a visit to the Hanging Rock...

It’s the psycho-thriller classic we all should have been reading in school and that’s that. Fabulous and satisfying read with phenomenal pacing. 

Jacque

Nicole Dykeman

This was assigned reading for class, and I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s so strangely magical and watching the story unravel was just a delightful experience.

Kyle S

Wonderfully well written (albeit the formatting could use some scene breaks), good characters, and a captivating mystery.

Paloma

3.5 stars

The beginning, especially, and the ending were fantastic. I felt intrigued, and the mysterious atmosphere of the story was undoubtedly present. The reason I kept reading was to find out more about the central mystery of the story surrounding the girls that went missing at Hanging Rock, but it felt like we barely explored it thoroughly afterward. The whole middle part of the story felt like it went off-track: focusing on other characters and practically dismissing the chore of the story. It could have been a fantastic, haunting, story but it ended up being just enjoyable enough to be an alright novel.

mary

I absolutely adored this book! I saw a play version earlier this year, and I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up! At first I found it quite slow as I was adapting to the writing style, but once I got invested it was fantastic! I'd recommend this to anyone.

In 1900, a class of young women from an exclusive private school go on an excursion to the isolated Hanging Rock, deep in the Australian bush. The excursion ends in tragedy when four girls and a teacher mysteriously vanish after climbing the rock. Only one girl returns, with no memory of what has become of the others . . . Co-founded by Jane and Glenn McGrath, the McGrath Foundation raises money to place McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities right across Australia and to increase breast awareness in young women. The McGrath Foundation believes 150 of these specially trained nurses are needed to ensure that every family experiencing breast cancer has access to a breast care nurse, no matter where they live or their financial situation. McGrath Breast Care Nurses offer a unique service to families who can self-refer to this free support. Penguin is proud to donate $1 from the original sale of each Pink Popular Penguin to help the McGrath Foundation realise their goal. To find out how you can make a difference visit www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au

sunny

Permeated by a gauzy, girlish dread and set against a primordial landscape. I'm not sure if I felt more keenly the tightening noose of Victorian girlhood or the dizzying unreality of the thin places in the Australian outback. Not enough people read this novel. Please do. 

On St. Valentine's Day in 1900 a party of school girls set out for a picnic... some were never to return. It was a cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred. Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three of the girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared. They never returned. Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction the reader must decide for themselves.

Jade Flynn

It was okay, I finished it. That's it. Reads more like an unfinished brief first outline for a lengthier novel. What a curious little thing.

Yasmin S.

What a great book! Super intriguing, atmospheric, and whimsical. One of the best books to read around spring/summer time for sure, even with its creepy plot. To be honest, the spookiness and mystery of the plot work perfectly with the delicate spring-like aesthetic the book has. A must read!

Mario Novic

Thaddeus Cortez

A kabel 

Lexie 

While Joan Lindsay's haunting Australian classic Picnic at Hanging Rock is a work of fiction, the story is often considered one of Australia's greatest mysteries. In 1900, a class of young women from an exclusive private school go on an excursion to the isolated Hanging Rock, deep in the Australian bush. The excursion ends in tragedy when three girls and a teacher mysteriously vanish after climbing the rock. Only one girl returns, with no memory of what has become of the others . . .

Sarah Erle

Roo Lampione

Stephen James

Febrero de 1900. Un grupo de alumnas del selecto colegio Appleyard para señoritas se dispone a celebrar un picnic el día de San Valentín. Lo que empieza siendo una inocente comida campestre se torna en tragedia cuando tres niñas y una profesora desaparecen misteriosamente entre los recovecos de Hanging Rock, un imponente conjunto de rocas rodeado de la salvaje y asfixiante vegetación australiana. La única chica que logra regresar, presa de la histeria, no recuerda nada de lo sucedido. Considerada una de las más desazonantes novelas de culto de la literatura anglosajona, «Picnic en Hanging Rock» dio lugar a una aclamadísima película de Peter Weir, que contribuyó a incrementar el éxito de una obra ya mítica. Jamás se reveló si los hechos narrados fueron reales o no, y ese ambiguo e intrigante juego alentó la aparición de una legión de seguidores que afirmaban conocer lo ocurrido aquel aciago día de San Valentín en el sobrecogedor paisaje de Hanging Rock.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

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