Some postcolonial texts such as Picnic at Hanging Rock utilise Gothic tropes such as ‘uncanny’ familiarity and natural mysterious landscapes to reveal both the perspective of the colonised subject and also settlers’ fears regarding new and unexplored lands. Postcolonial literature helps give voice to the colonised subject and highlights the racist behaviour that the colonisers displayed whilst simultaneously educating readers on the cultural and religious beliefs of other countries.

British colonialism has inspired many novels aiming to justify the actions of the British but there are also texts that expose their racist views and actions and how they perceived the natives of other countries as inferior and primitive. During the years 1606-1770, the British Empire began to colonise Australia with the first colony officially established in 1788. It enacted economic and military control over less powerful countries and ultimately overpowered the native people of those lands. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.įrom the sixteenth century onwards, Britain built a global Empire. Her research focuses primarily on speculative fiction including portrayals of disability in the Victorian Gothic, and representations and constructions of gender and race in Neo-Victorian fiction. Sarah McFee is a MA English graduate from Teesside University. Gothic Representations of Colonisation in Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967)

Joan lindsay