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The Murders At Hanging Rock
Rousseau presents four different explantions for Lindsay's mysterious book "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
- GenresNonfictionAustralia
Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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133 people want to read
About the author
Yvonne Rousseau
4 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 12, 2022
I have to say that I found the multiple "solutions" to this classic (fictional) Australian mystery contained within this book markedly more satisfying than Joan Lindsay's own "final chapter" to Picnic at Hanging Rock (published as The Secret of Hanging Rock), which was published some years after this title, following Lindsay's death.
September 13, 2015
The author of Picnic at Hanging Rock infamously declared her weariness at receiving enthusiastic fan mail about her enduring mystery novel, with endless suggestions and questions about what really happened to the missing schoolgirls and their maths teacher in 1901.
Despite never reading Rousseau's book, Joan Lindsay may have been grateful another writer picked up the baton and pored over every detail in her story for mythological, philosophical, astrological, paranormal and forensic possibilities in five contradictory solutions to the original story.
Rousseau's work is complex, at times baffling and often left me in the kind of misty funk I imagine Miranda, Irma and Marion succumbed to on their journey up the rock, although the final solution - the most conventional, with its Sherlock Holmes deductions and Agatha Christie-like villains - is the more satisfying to read as an addendum to the novel itself. It's also the most challenging, thrusting the reader against the terrible realities of violent kidnap, rape and murder, the likes of which Lindsay invites us to imagine as a possibility in the original.
When juxtaposed with Lindsay's plot - which contains systemic child abuse, two shocking suicides and terrible sudden deaths for many characters - Rousseau's investigation of malevolence spreading through a genteel society, with its extremely grisly end for the schoolgirls and their governess at the hands of men, provides the most complete end to the story.
Lindsay may have resisted reading Rousseau's work - or said she hadn't - because in it, Rousseau turns up several plot holes, and although these are transformed by sharp intelligence and satire into credible possibilities, no author likes their plot to be so easily taken apart, especially by an acolyte.
The Murders at Hanging Rock puts into writing what most readers imagine happened to the missing women, and it serves as an effective volume in the 'Picnic' collection of works. Read it before rereading the novel.
Despite never reading Rousseau's book, Joan Lindsay may have been grateful another writer picked up the baton and pored over every detail in her story for mythological, philosophical, astrological, paranormal and forensic possibilities in five contradictory solutions to the original story.
Rousseau's work is complex, at times baffling and often left me in the kind of misty funk I imagine Miranda, Irma and Marion succumbed to on their journey up the rock, although the final solution - the most conventional, with its Sherlock Holmes deductions and Agatha Christie-like villains - is the more satisfying to read as an addendum to the novel itself. It's also the most challenging, thrusting the reader against the terrible realities of violent kidnap, rape and murder, the likes of which Lindsay invites us to imagine as a possibility in the original.
When juxtaposed with Lindsay's plot - which contains systemic child abuse, two shocking suicides and terrible sudden deaths for many characters - Rousseau's investigation of malevolence spreading through a genteel society, with its extremely grisly end for the schoolgirls and their governess at the hands of men, provides the most complete end to the story.
Lindsay may have resisted reading Rousseau's work - or said she hadn't - because in it, Rousseau turns up several plot holes, and although these are transformed by sharp intelligence and satire into credible possibilities, no author likes their plot to be so easily taken apart, especially by an acolyte.
The Murders at Hanging Rock puts into writing what most readers imagine happened to the missing women, and it serves as an effective volume in the 'Picnic' collection of works. Read it before rereading the novel.
September 9, 2014
You can relax. There's no need to spend any time thinking about the book Picnic at Hanging Rock. Ms. Rousseau has already thought everything there is to think about it. Mostly far-fetched thoughts that bog down in hermeneutics but also some delightfully silly thoughts that flirt shamelessly with cheesy detective stories. Seriously. Ms. Rousseau has left not a single (hanging) rock unturned here. And I kind of love/hate her for that.
June 16, 2017
As a self professed Picnic at Hanging Rock fan, I thought I would give this book a go. It is entirely hypothetical scenarios as to what could have happened at Hanging Rock. While truly fascinating, I think part of the charm of Joan Lindsay's book is the element of mystery that has surrounded it. The theories are wildly speculative but interesting. It took a lot of effort to finish.
June 29, 2013
There has been much commentary on the extra-terrestrial or time lapse theories so I particularly enjoyed the final option outlined that suggests it was Mike and Albert all along....and it's entirely plausible. love it!
July 22, 2024
After reading Picnic at Hanging Rock, I became interested in some of the theories that are written about in this book, so of course I had to read it. In this book Yvonne Rousseau delves into several theories that explain what might have happened to the missing girls, so if you’re interested in some extremely detailed Picnic at Hanging Rock theories, this book is for you!
I thought it was interesting how the story is analyzed to create these theories. The police and news reports as well as witness testimonies are treated as ‘real’, while everything else fiction (although it is still important in more symbolic and figurative ways to the theories). The first theory we are introduced to is a ‘parallel universe’ one. It uses factual discrepancies, as well as some strange occurrences in the book, as proof the story might take place in an extremely similar universe to ours. After that we get several theories about the disappearance itself: interdimensional/time/universe travel, an UFO abduction, some type of supernatural event involving aboriginal Australian mythology, and lastly, a combination of kidnapping, rape and murder. Rousseau goes into great detail about all of these theories, a bit too much for me personally. Most of the theories are very interesting, there are many things mentioned from the book I hadn’t noticed myself, or things I hadn’t really thought about, that become important to these theories. It’s obvious that Rousseau did a lot of research, but at times I found the background information overwhelming and hard to follow. This was especially true for the supernatural theories, which I found frustrating, as I genuinely thought these were interesting ideas. I think a summary or conclusion for each theory would have been very helpful.
I didn’t have this problem with the murder theory though, probably as it’s not as complicated and a more realistic explanation. It was quite obvious throughout the book that this was Rousseau’s favorite theory, it’s also an extremely dark one. This theory proposes that Mike and Albert kidnapped, raped and murdered the girls, with only Irma surviving and escaping the whole ordeal (although with no memories of the events). To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Mike and Albert the same way again after reading this theory. While these two are portrayed in a very positive light in the book, in this theory they’re absolute monsters. The way it’s told makes it a very convincing theory though, it explains a lot of details that aren’t really explored in the book. At the same time, I find it hard to believe they would be possible for them to keep the girls under control for so long.
I was kind of surprised there was no mention of the disappearance being an accident. It was one of the first things I was thinking of when I was reading Picnic at Hanging Rock this time, what if the girls simply went too far on the rock, got lost and/or injured and didn’t survive? I feel like there is enough there as in the book it is talked about dangerous nature, and the Hanging Rock is, especially if you’re not familiar with the Australian bush. I was reminded of the real life story of the Death Valley Germans, where underestimating the dangers of nature and isolation lead to a tragic end.
I thought this was mostly an interesting insight on Picnic at Hanging Rock. I’m already looking forward to reading it again! Right now, I’m not feeling particularly convinced towards any of the theories. While I do think the murder theory is quite realistic and plausible, I feel more for parts of the time travel theory. Overall, I do think the book is a bit too detailed, making the theories hard to follow at times.
I thought it was interesting how the story is analyzed to create these theories. The police and news reports as well as witness testimonies are treated as ‘real’, while everything else fiction (although it is still important in more symbolic and figurative ways to the theories). The first theory we are introduced to is a ‘parallel universe’ one. It uses factual discrepancies, as well as some strange occurrences in the book, as proof the story might take place in an extremely similar universe to ours. After that we get several theories about the disappearance itself: interdimensional/time/universe travel, an UFO abduction, some type of supernatural event involving aboriginal Australian mythology, and lastly, a combination of kidnapping, rape and murder. Rousseau goes into great detail about all of these theories, a bit too much for me personally. Most of the theories are very interesting, there are many things mentioned from the book I hadn’t noticed myself, or things I hadn’t really thought about, that become important to these theories. It’s obvious that Rousseau did a lot of research, but at times I found the background information overwhelming and hard to follow. This was especially true for the supernatural theories, which I found frustrating, as I genuinely thought these were interesting ideas. I think a summary or conclusion for each theory would have been very helpful.
I didn’t have this problem with the murder theory though, probably as it’s not as complicated and a more realistic explanation. It was quite obvious throughout the book that this was Rousseau’s favorite theory, it’s also an extremely dark one. This theory proposes that Mike and Albert kidnapped, raped and murdered the girls, with only Irma surviving and escaping the whole ordeal (although with no memories of the events). To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Mike and Albert the same way again after reading this theory. While these two are portrayed in a very positive light in the book, in this theory they’re absolute monsters. The way it’s told makes it a very convincing theory though, it explains a lot of details that aren’t really explored in the book. At the same time, I find it hard to believe they would be possible for them to keep the girls under control for so long.
I was kind of surprised there was no mention of the disappearance being an accident. It was one of the first things I was thinking of when I was reading Picnic at Hanging Rock this time, what if the girls simply went too far on the rock, got lost and/or injured and didn’t survive? I feel like there is enough there as in the book it is talked about dangerous nature, and the Hanging Rock is, especially if you’re not familiar with the Australian bush. I was reminded of the real life story of the Death Valley Germans, where underestimating the dangers of nature and isolation lead to a tragic end.
I thought this was mostly an interesting insight on Picnic at Hanging Rock. I’m already looking forward to reading it again! Right now, I’m not feeling particularly convinced towards any of the theories. While I do think the murder theory is quite realistic and plausible, I feel more for parts of the time travel theory. Overall, I do think the book is a bit too detailed, making the theories hard to follow at times.
January 4, 2022
It feels like 4 or 5 students had to write a book review and pulled every reference to gain the best marks. I was very confused with all of the alternative possible solutions.
January 23, 2016
The Murders at Hanging Rock is a book in which the author states that the events in Picnic at Hanging Rock were fictional, and then proposes a variety of explanations for the mystery of what happened in the fictional story.
This is an Australian book and the only way I managed to get a copy was through an inter-library loan. It was written by Yvonne Rousseau and is copyrighted 1980, with a separate forward copyrighted in 1988.
A writer for the National Times did the forward, and he states that he believes Joan Lindsay's inspiration was a poem written in 1655 by Henry Vaughan, called "They are all gone into the world of light."
The book does lay out the sequence of events in the story better than any of the other books I have consulted on the film. One of the things that is pointed out that all the events involving the girls on the Rock had to be speculation on the part of the writer, since no one actually saw the girls on the rock (except for crossing the creek) and thus no one would know what was actually said or done. This does, actually, lend support to the argument that the story is really fiction and not fact at all.
As noted, there are several explanations for the "mystery" of Hanging Rock:
1. The events took place in a parallel universe to our own. The discrepancies in the date of events, for example, could be explained by a slightly different calendar being used in the parallel world. There is a possibility that the girls had the ability to at least partially levitate their bodies, explaining why Irma was found with her feet undamaged four days after she disappeared.
2. The girls entered some other dimensional state of reality while they were on Hanging Rock. The fact that the people's watches stopped is used to support this hypothesis. Variations could include that the girls actually traveled forwards or backwards in time, or that they may have been involved in time travel, dimensional travel, and travel into/from a parallel universe.
3. The girls became involved in a UFO abduction event. Irma's amnesia and the strange cloud are both used to support this hypothesis.
4. The events could also have involved some form of supernatural activity.
5. What we are dealing with her are some very gruesome murders. According to this hypothesis Mike and Albert worked together to capture the girls and Greta McCraw. According to this hypothesis, Albert and Mike were drinking champaign when they spotted the girls. Mike and Albert confront the girls, Mike holding a knife to Irma's throat. Edith runs away while Miranda and Maion freeze. While Edith is running away she spots Miss McCraw. Albert catches Edith and knocks her out with a rock. Albert comes up behind Miss McCraw and also knocks her out with a rock. The three girls and the adult are bounded and gagged and placed into a cave.
Edith wakes up and wanders off, effecting her escape. Mike and Albert return to the college at night, but go back out the next morning where they rape and kill Marion and Miss McCraw, stuffing their bodies down a hold in the rock structure. They then take Miranda and Irma back to become their own personal slaves. This doesn't work out, however, so the girls are drugged and dropped off in the bush. Later the girls are again collected and Mike and Albert head back to the rock. Albert then rapes and kills Miranda. Mike is left with Irma, and Albert leaves. Irma manages to get a rock and hits Mike with it, gashing his forehead. He falls and knocks his head against a boulder. She crawls away and is later found. Fortunately for the murderers Irma has been hit enough times with rocks and suffered enough that she now has amnesia and can't remember the events.
Unfortunately, several explanations are presented in such an incredibly boring manner that it becomes a pain to try and force your way through those sections. Only section 4 was readable, but never dealt with this problem: how could two teen-age boys manage, in reality, to subdue three girls and a grown adult, pull off all four murders, and never ever be caught. It isn't like the two boys were accomplished criminals; probably neither had any experience with anything along those lines.
If you are an absolute completist you would want this book; otherwise, pass it by.
This is an Australian book and the only way I managed to get a copy was through an inter-library loan. It was written by Yvonne Rousseau and is copyrighted 1980, with a separate forward copyrighted in 1988.
A writer for the National Times did the forward, and he states that he believes Joan Lindsay's inspiration was a poem written in 1655 by Henry Vaughan, called "They are all gone into the world of light."
The book does lay out the sequence of events in the story better than any of the other books I have consulted on the film. One of the things that is pointed out that all the events involving the girls on the Rock had to be speculation on the part of the writer, since no one actually saw the girls on the rock (except for crossing the creek) and thus no one would know what was actually said or done. This does, actually, lend support to the argument that the story is really fiction and not fact at all.
As noted, there are several explanations for the "mystery" of Hanging Rock:
1. The events took place in a parallel universe to our own. The discrepancies in the date of events, for example, could be explained by a slightly different calendar being used in the parallel world. There is a possibility that the girls had the ability to at least partially levitate their bodies, explaining why Irma was found with her feet undamaged four days after she disappeared.
2. The girls entered some other dimensional state of reality while they were on Hanging Rock. The fact that the people's watches stopped is used to support this hypothesis. Variations could include that the girls actually traveled forwards or backwards in time, or that they may have been involved in time travel, dimensional travel, and travel into/from a parallel universe.
3. The girls became involved in a UFO abduction event. Irma's amnesia and the strange cloud are both used to support this hypothesis.
4. The events could also have involved some form of supernatural activity.
5. What we are dealing with her are some very gruesome murders. According to this hypothesis Mike and Albert worked together to capture the girls and Greta McCraw. According to this hypothesis, Albert and Mike were drinking champaign when they spotted the girls. Mike and Albert confront the girls, Mike holding a knife to Irma's throat. Edith runs away while Miranda and Maion freeze. While Edith is running away she spots Miss McCraw. Albert catches Edith and knocks her out with a rock. Albert comes up behind Miss McCraw and also knocks her out with a rock. The three girls and the adult are bounded and gagged and placed into a cave.
Edith wakes up and wanders off, effecting her escape. Mike and Albert return to the college at night, but go back out the next morning where they rape and kill Marion and Miss McCraw, stuffing their bodies down a hold in the rock structure. They then take Miranda and Irma back to become their own personal slaves. This doesn't work out, however, so the girls are drugged and dropped off in the bush. Later the girls are again collected and Mike and Albert head back to the rock. Albert then rapes and kills Miranda. Mike is left with Irma, and Albert leaves. Irma manages to get a rock and hits Mike with it, gashing his forehead. He falls and knocks his head against a boulder. She crawls away and is later found. Fortunately for the murderers Irma has been hit enough times with rocks and suffered enough that she now has amnesia and can't remember the events.
Unfortunately, several explanations are presented in such an incredibly boring manner that it becomes a pain to try and force your way through those sections. Only section 4 was readable, but never dealt with this problem: how could two teen-age boys manage, in reality, to subdue three girls and a grown adult, pull off all four murders, and never ever be caught. It isn't like the two boys were accomplished criminals; probably neither had any experience with anything along those lines.
If you are an absolute completist you would want this book; otherwise, pass it by.
August 4, 2009
What really happened at Hanging Rock when 3 students and a teacher vanished St Valentines Day 1900? Did it even happen?
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews