Picnic at Hanging Rock (novel)

Picnic at Hanging Rock
First edition cover
AuthorJoan Lindsay
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical novel
PublisherF. W. Cheshire
Penguin (paperback)
Publication date
1967
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages212 (first printing)

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 historical fiction novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay.[1] Set in Victoria, Australia in 1900, is about a group of female boarding school students who vanish at Hanging Rock while on a Valentine's Day picnic, and the effects the disappearances have on the school and local community.

The novel was first published in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was reprinted by Penguin in 1975. It is widely considered by critics to be one of the greatest Australian novels. In 2022, it was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[2]

It was adapted into a 1975 film of the same name, directed by Peter Weir.

  1. ^ "Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. ^ "The Big Jubilee Read: A literary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign". BBC. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.