Ep 766 - Picnic at Hanging Rock, by Joan Lindsay
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What is the premise of Picnic at Hanging Rock and why is it called a “Whahappen?”
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While Andrew and Craig believe the joy of discovery is crucial to enjoying any well-told tale, they will not shy away from spoiling specific story beats when necessary. Plus, these are books you should have read by now.
Hey everybody, welcome to Overdue. It's a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read, and my name is Craig. And my name is Andrew. I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing a renowned work of Australian fiction.
Okay. I'm going on a picnic, and I will never be seen again, so it's not important what I'm bringing with me.
More about what you're taking away from the rest of us, I suppose. Andrew, what did you read for this week's episode of our show where each week one of us reads a book and tells the other person about it? Oh, I read Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Ah, yes. The Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Yeah, a book that I had not really heard of, but you suggested it as a possibility for the show based on a blank check episode about the 1975 movie adaptation.
It had come up on a list of other stuff, and I was like, oh, that thing. That sounded interesting.
Yeah. And this book had not even been published in the U.S. until like relatively recently, not officially anyway. At least that was my that was what I read. Sure. OK.
There's
like a Penguin version that came out. I'm trying
to. I think the Penguin version was around the release of the film, I believe.
Receive its first publication in it was imported for sale in the U.S. and then was published in the U.S. in 2014 by Penguin.
So it was
available in the U.S. maybe before that. But
yeah. But no, a like seminal work of Australian fiction and of Australian filmmaking. We'll talk about that a little bit. Not too much. You can go listen to Blank Check for more about that. But Lindsay herself, also not someone who wrote a lot of books. This is the book. If you are a Joan Lindsay head, I mean, there are a few others.
Yeah, she did a few other things, including like a one children's book that came out like a couple of years before she died.
Yes,
yes. But, yeah, not a huge library of stuff from her.
No. So we'll dive in, and then Andrew can tell us all the yummy foods that these girls who are surely all safe ate at their picnic. Lindsay, born Joan Beckett Weigel in 1896, passed away in 1984. Mm-hmm. I was reading a Lit Hub article about this book, and they remarked that Joan Lindsay herself lived a sort of time warp, born under the reign of Queen Victoria and publishing her first novel during the Vietnam War.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the premise of Picnic at Hanging Rock and why is it called a “Whahappen?”
0:01–6:07
2
How did Joan Lindsay’s life and early works shape the novel’s tone?
6:07–13:49
3
Why does the book focus on “what happened” instead of a traditional whodunit?
13:49–21:31
4
Who are the main girls and staff at Appleyard College and what are their relationships before the picnic?
21:31–29:30
5
What exactly occurs on the day of the picnic and how do the disappearances unfold?
29:30–37:54
6
How does the mystery affect the school and the community in the aftermath?
37:54–45:40
7
What are the major film, TV, and literary adaptations of Picnic at Hanging Rock and how do they differ?
45:40–54:43
8
What lasting themes and cultural impact does the novel have on Australian horror and mystery fiction?
54:43–1:01:16
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Overdue
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