β Scribed by Colleen McCullough
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
{ Sept 2020 - epub revisions. Verified eboo. }
Paperback, 692 pages
Published 1977
The Thorn Birds is a robust, romantic saga of a singular family, the Clearys. It begins in the early part of this century, when Paddy Cleary moves his wife, Fiona, and their seven children to Drogheda, the vast Australian sheep station owned by his autocratic and childless older sister; and it ends more than half a century later, when the only survivor of the third generation, the brilliant actress Justine O'Neill, sets a course of life and love halfway around the world from her roots.
The central figures in this enthralling story are the indomitable Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, the stunningly handsome and ambitious priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph's course moves him a long way indeed, from a remote Outback parish to the halls of the Vatican; and Meggie's except for a brief and miserable marriage elsewhere, is fixed to the Drogheda that is part of her bones - but distance does not dim their feelings though it shapes their lives.
Wonderful characters people this book; strong and gentle, Paddy, hiding a private memory; dutiful Fiona, holding back love because it once betrayed her, violent, tormented Frank, and the other hardworking Cleary sons who give the boundless lands of Drogheda the energy and devotion most men save for women; Meggie; Ralph; and Meggie's children, Justine and Dane. And the land itself; stark, relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
In the rugged Australian Outback, three generations of Clearys live through joy and sadness, bitter defeat and magnificent triumph driven by their dreams, sustained by remarkable strength of character... and torn by dark passions, violence and a scandalous family legacy of forbidden love.It is a poi
Set in the Norwegian countryside over the course of one summer, *The Birds* tells the story of forty-year-old Mattis, who has mental disabilities and lives in a small house near a lake with his sister Hege, who ekes out a modest living knitting sweaters. From time to time Hege encourages her brother
On a cold day deep in the heart of winter, Rowan's father returns from an ill-fated hunting trip bearing a single, white rose. The rose is followed by the Huntress, a figure out of legend. Tall, cruel, and achingly beautiful, she brings Rowan back with her to a mountain fastness populated solely by
A Love Affair for the Ages. Five hundred years ago their paths first crossed. He possessed her totally, not quite against her will. Until she fled. And was captured. And was punished. And fled. And is fleeing still⦠Dracula tells the story of his life and his great love before he became undead. The
The last ten years had been unhappy for David Culpepper. His wife had ruled his life like a prison warden. Now that he's free, his only problem is Patty. She nags and insults him as much as his wife ever did. But why is that such a problem? Patty's only a mynah bird. Page Count : 43 Word Count