With a stunning setting and intricate, fleshed-out characters, McCullough weaves a masterful story that grabs the reader early on and simply refuses to let go. How appropriate that I found the opportunity to revisit it 40 years later. Published May 1st 1977 by HarperCollins Publishers Hardcover, 533 pages Author(s): Colleen. The Thorn Birds remains one of the most compelling and satisfying epics I've ever read.

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. Colleen McCulloughs novel The Thorn Birds was published in 1977 and became a worldwide success, selling more. 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. Editions for The Thorn Birds: (Mass Market Paperback published in 2002), (Kindle Edition published in 2009). It is a saga of dark passion and forbidden love. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. The Thorn Birds (1983) is a popular, award-winning mini-series based on the novel of the same title by w:Colleen McCullough. 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. 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. “Beautiful….Compelling entertainment.” - New York Times

The thorn birds book 1977