The Thorn Birds

Colleen McCullough

Oct 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

“Beautiful….Compelling entertainment.” —New York Times

One of the most beloved novels of all time, The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough’s sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback, returns to enthrall a new generation.

The Thorn Birds 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.

“A heart-rending epic…truly marvelous.” —Chicago Tribune

Ratings and reviews

I found the first six hundred pages of your book incredibly dull. I didn't feel like anything happend at all. There was a lot going on but none of it really mattered. There were no happy endings until you got to Justine who was one of the last people I would have expected to have a happy ending. In fact I rather liked that part. To bad I had to trudge though miles of boring test to get to it. Over all I would not suggest this book to anyone like me. If they had a deep interest in reading it I would tell them to simply read a summary of most of the book and then either pick up on Dane or Justine. That is just my opinion though.... Jeremy

I first read this book in my early teens. After fifteen-ish years, I can still quote large parts verbatim, because it sticks with you so clearly. The characters are quirky but you really "get" all of them, even the ones you despise. The Thorn Birds is an excellent piece of literature that is absolutely unforgettable.

Very good read...I read it at age 11 and freaked my mom out...she "tried" to hide it from me...I found it and read the whole novel 😊 Maggie b.d the day before mine...enough said

About the author

Colleen McCullough is the author of The Thorn Birds, Tim, An Indecent Obsession, A Creed for the Third Millennium, The Ladies of Missalonghi, The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar, and other novels. She lives with her husband on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific.