A short story writer, editor and critic, Yvonne Rousseau graduated with honours in English and Philosophy. She has experienced a varied background, working in a number of occupations which include pineapple-trimmer, tea-lady, artist's model and stocktaker.
Drawn by the enigmatic narrative of Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) Rousseau concentrated on the novel's various ambiguities to write the 'scholarly spoof' The Murders at Hanging Rock (1980). This companion work offers four possible explanations which creatively re-interpret the inconclusiveness of the original Hanging Rock narrative. Resting somewhere on the divide between critical study and witty entertainment, Rousseau combines 'fact with fiction' to solve the disappearance of the missing school girls who featured in the classic novel by Joan Lindsay (q.v.).
Although 'not a prolific writer of fiction', Rousseau has been noted for producing 'thoughtful and well-written science fiction short stories'. She was the editor of Australian Science Fiction Review from 1986 to 1991.
(Sources: Joan Lindsay et al The Secret of Hanging Rock, 1987; Paul Collins (ed) The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1998)