Australian Literature 102

You Tube video. 57 minutes long.

The editor of the Sydney Review of books is speaking. A publisher is also there with him. I'll note any major points they make.

The book is obscure but the film is not.

The film and the book are quite different.

Joan Lindsay's background is discussed.

The story was based on the school Clyde.

Joan Lindsay was a dreamer.

The book can be characterized as a Gothic novel.

It is a potentially homoerotic novel.

Miranda and Irma have a lot of erotic power.

Sara was in love with Miranda.

The clothes the girls wore set them apart from the landscape.

The obsession with corsets is part of the plot.

The corsets suspended in the air is discussed.

The film is better then the book in describing what the police do.

The book is also sort of a mystery novel, a crime novel and a science fiction novel.

There are constant references to time.

The crime is not as important as the effect it has on everyone else.

The book does not stand up to any kind of plot analysis.

The novel was written in about four weeks.

Chaper 18 is 'kind of nuts'.

The girls come across a hole in time.

The women forgot their names.

(She reads quite a bit from Chapter 18)

Some people have brought up the idea of a parallel universe.

Another possibility is that this involved dreamtime which could involve people changing into animals. The girls turned into their totem animals.

Those of European origin who were 'disconnected' from the land ended up suffering a bad fate. Albert, a lower-class character, didn't.

This is part of the European alienation from the landscape.

Miranda is beautiful and everyone wants to touch her. She is sort of a mythological figure.

There is a psycho-sexual undertone to the film.

(From a question-and-answer portion)

It's possible Mrs.Appleyard killed Sara.

Joan Lindsay was happy with the film but was not happy about the attention it brought to her.