Publisher details

Author: Colleen McCullough
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Released: 01 April, 1977
ISBN: 9780732297497

The Thorn Birds

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Synopsis

One of the most beloved novels of all time, The Thorn Birds has enthralled readers the world over.It is a chronicle of three generations of Clearys — an indomitable clan of ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart – and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma.#14 in Australia's Top 100 Favourite Homegrown Reads#90 in ABC My Favourite Book #52 in Australia's Top 100 2016

About the author

Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough was born in western New South Wales in 1937. A neuroscientist by training, she worked in various Sydney and English hospitals before settling into ten years of research and teaching in the Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School in the USA. In 1974 her first novel, Tim, was published in New York, followed by the bestselling The Thorn Birds in 1977 and a string of successful novels, including the acclaimed Masters of Rome series. In 1980 she settled in Norfolk Island, where she lives with her husband, Ric Robinson, and a cat named Shady. She passed away on January 29, 2015, at the age of 77.