A 1967 mystery/drama novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay.
On Valentine's Day, 1900, a group of schoolgirls from Appleyard College are on a school trip to Hanging Rock. Four of them, Marion, Irma, Edith, and Miranda, decide to climb a monolith. After the other three fall into a trancelike state, young Edith fetches a teacher for help — and then Miss McGraw and the other girls mysteriously disappear, which greatly shakes the school, the local community, and their mysterious headmistress herself.
The novel is written as if it were based on a true story, and is known for its unresolved mystery. The initial 'final chapter' that depicted the girls' disappearance was excised by the publishers, and was later published posthumously as The Secret of Hanging Rock. The actual Hanging Rock in Victoria is a major fan pilgrimage site. They even have a statue of Miranda in the visitors' centre. Janelle McCulloch's 2017 book Beyond the Rock: The Life of Joan Lindsay and the Mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock is a detailed look at Lindsay and the background of the story.
The book was adapted into a 1975 film of the Australian New Wave, starring Rachel Roberts as Mrs. Appleyard. Natalie Dormer took on the role for the 2018 television adaptation.
Tropes in this novel:
- Author Appeal: Joan Lindsay loved Valentine's Day. It was even the date of her wedding anniversary. So it's not surprising that the mysterious disappearance happens on that specific day.
- Based on a Great Big Lie: Joan Lindsay suggests in the prologue that the book was based on actual police reports of a mysterious disappearance from 1900. But Valentine's Day that year was a Wednesday, not a Saturday, and no one has been able to find any evidence of the events depicted, or even that the girls' school in the story existed (it may have been based on Lindsay's real school). Some people have recalled the disappearances at Hanging Rock being part of the local folklore (true or otherwise), but researchers have been unable to find anything printed about it before 1970. In this case, it's not only the author claiming the book is based on true reports, it's also the audience cooking up urban legends about it being true.
- Book Dumb: Albert's letters are full of grammatical errors and amusing misspellings (like "jennerous").
- Have a Gay Old Time: Miranda's Affectionate Nickname for Sara is "Pussy".
- Karmic Death: Both Mrs Appleyard and Miss Lumley
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the book, odd things happen with time during the picnic. No one's watch works correctly. Things take longer than they should or happen much more quickly than seems possible. None of it is so far out there that it is unrealistic, but it is just weird enough for the audience to consider the possibility that the supernatural may have been involved in the girls' disappearance. This is pushed firmly into supernatural territory by The Secret of Hanging Rock, as summarized here
. - Mind Screwdriver: Twenty years after the original novel was published, a bonus chapter explaining what happened to the disappeared women was released. Turns out they turned into lizards and disappeared into a timewarp leading into the Rock.
- My God, What Have I Done?: This is hinted with Mrs Appleyard after Sara dies because on her desk is the letter from Sara's Guardian revealing his mistakes, she then numbly goes to Hanging Rock and witnesses the decaying ghost of Sara before jumping.
- One-Book Author: Lindsay was 70 when this was published, and it was her only novel. Her earlier books were all memoirs, and her only published book after this was an illustrated book for children. note
- One Name Only: All other major characters have surnames, but Miranda's is noticeably avoided in the book. It's St. Clare in the film and Reed in the TV series.
- Out-of-Character Alert: In the book, Mlle de Poitiers realises Sara is in danger because she never would have left Miranda's portrait behind.
- Revised Ending: The novel's final chapter was deleted, then published separately in 1987 as The Secret of Hanging Rock.
- Tuckerization: Several characters (Marion, Miss McCraw, Hussey the coach driver, Dr. McKenzie) are named after real people Lindsay knew in her youth.
- Valentine's Day Violence: The girls disappear at a Valentine's Day picnic, where people's watches stop working, and a full-scale time warp seems to happen, with events occurring either much faster or slower than seems natural or possible.
- Where Are They Now: The last chapter of the novel mentions that the Appleyard college the house is based in burned down a year after the events of Hanging Rock. Michael has settled down in a property of his own in North Queensland. Edith died in Melbourne few years after leaving the college, while Irma is living in Europe and married to a French count. Albert, Mme De Poitiers and Mr. Whitehead will live a long life.
