{"product_id":"joan-lindsay","title":"Joan Lindsay","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of Australia's foremost biographers examines the life of Joan Lindsay, the author of one of Australia's most enduring novels\u003ci\u003e Picnic at Hanging Rock\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJoan Lindsay's \u003ci\u003ePicnic at Hanging Rock\u003c\/i\u003e has captivated and perplexed generations. But the woman behind the novel is as much an enigma as the disappearance of the fictitious schoolgirls and their teacher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJoan Lindsay, wife of painter, art entrepreneur and National Gallery of Victoria director Daryl Lindsay, sacrificed her own artistic talent in deference to her husband, as was the order of the day. She painted landscapes with skill, but gave it up; wrote plays and novels of little merit; took routine journalism commissions for much-needed funds; and happily played hostess to guests including Dame Nellie Melba, Robert Helpman, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, as well as Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch and Robert Menzies, at the Lindsay country house on the Mornington Peninsula-all the while giving no indication of the literary brilliance that would emerge late in her life. There were clues, though, as Brenda Niall reveals in this fascinating biography. Joan's unconventional attitude towards time-she allowed no clocks in the house and never wore a watch-and her deep reverence for the Australian landscape hint at the mystical centre of her masterpiece.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWas Joan really the dutiful wife, or was she patiently waiting her chance? Was\u003ci\u003e Picnic at Hanging Rock\u003c\/i\u003e a burst of creativity in response to a life held in check? Or did something happen behind the carefully curated scenes that gave rise to her extraordinary novel? \u003ci\u003eJoan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock\u003c\/i\u003e explores these questions and more in an engaging and surprising portrait of a fascinating Australian woman.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The great pleasure of this new biography... is to share with Niall and Lindsay the author's delight in her late success and her new identity as a writer. The scenes during which \u003ci\u003ePicnic at Hanging Rock\u003c\/i\u003e was filmed at Lindsay's home, the closing chapters of the biography, are joyful and exuberant' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian Australia \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Niall's short but limpidly written biography leaves the most tantalising mysteries of her life unsolved, just as its subject would have wanted.' \u003cb\u003eTom Gilling, \u003ci\u003eWeekend Australian \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Brenda Niall is one of Australia's premier literary biographers and in Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of The Woman Who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock she's at her best, bringing Lindsay further to life and further illuminating her seminal work.' \u003cb\u003eMichael Williams, \u003ci\u003eQANTAS Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'When it comes to biography, Brenda Niall is indefatigable.'\u003cb\u003e Jason Steger, \u003ci\u003eAge\/SMH\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e'This deep dive into Joan's life is simply fascinating.'  \u003cb\u003eNew Idea\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A change of pace with non-fiction. Brenda Niall is one of Australia's best biographers and her new book, Joan Lindsay, is about the writer behind one of Australia's most compelling works of fiction, Picnic at Hanging Rock. For most of her life, Joan was the wife of a more famous man, Daryl Lindsay, sacrificing her artistic talent for his own artistic career. Niall explores the enigmatic life of Joan, and what lay behind her captivating novel that has endured so successfully.'\u003cb\u003e Fairfield Books\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Brenda Niall","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43516757082173,"sku":null,"price":35.14,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9781923058019.jpg?v=1787572039","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/joan-lindsay","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}