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The Thorn Birds is a robust, romantic saga of a singular family, the Clearys. It begins in the early part of t his 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; Ralp; 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.
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Fiction, Romance, Clergy, Catholic Church, Catholics, Clergy in fiction, Catholics in fiction, Catholic Church in fiction, Australia, fiction, Man-woman relationships, fiction, Accessible book, Protected DAISY, OverDrive, American Love stories, In library, Australian fiction, epic fiction, religious fiction, romantic fiction, love stories, Large type books, Fiction, sagas, Fiction, romance, historical, Catholic church, clergy, fiction, English fiction, Priests, American Romance fiction, Anglais (langue), Lectures et morceaux choisis, Roman américain, Chang pian xiao shuo, Clergy, fiction, Fiction, Families, Fiction, romance, historical, general", Readers, Romans, nouvelles, Clergé, Église catholiquePeople
Padraic Cleary, Fiona Cleary, the Clearys, Meggie Cleary, Ralph de Bricassart, Francis Cleary, Justine O'Neill, Mary Elizabeth Cleary Carson, Luke O'Neill, Dane O'Neill, Luddie Muller, Anne Mueller, Bob Cleary, Jack Cleary, Hughie Cleary, Stuart Cleary, Harold Cleary, James Cleary, Patrick Cleary, Rainer Moerling Hartheim, Vittorio di Contini-VerchesePlaces
Australia, New Zealand, Rome, the Vatican, England, Greece, Drogheda, Outback, ao da li yaShowing 10 featured editions. View all 79 editions?
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01
The Thorn Birds
2005, HarperCollins Publishers
Paperback
in English
- printing (1)
0732282241 9780732282240
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02
The Thorn Birds
2005, HarperCollins Publishers
Paperback
in English
- printing (1)
0732282241 9780732282240
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03
The Thorn Birds
2003-06, Perfectbound
Electronic resource
in English
- 25th Anniversary Edition
0060586214 9780060586218
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04
The Thorn Birds
2002?, Paw Prints (Avon Books)
library binding
in English
- First Avon Books paperback printing (86)
1439508224 9781439508220
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05
The Thorn Birds
December 16, 1999, Longman
Paperback
in English
- New edition
0582418232 9780582418233
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06 |
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07
Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir
1986-09, Pierre Belfond
Paperback
in French
2714411509 9782714411501
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08
The Thorn Birds
1978-06, Avon
Mass Market Paperback
in English
- Twenty-fifth Avon printing
0380444798 9780380444793
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09
The Thorn Birds
1978-06, Avon
Mass Market Paperback
in English
- First Avon printing
0380018179 9780380018178
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10 |
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The Thorn Birds is a 1977 best-selling novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda – a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback named after Drogheda, Ireland – the story focuses on the Cleary family and spans the years 1915 to 1969.
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- Created August 27, 2008
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August 1, 2021 | Edited by lisaBot | moving edition(s) to primary work |
July 31, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Merge works |
July 31, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Edited without comment. |
July 31, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Merge works |
August 27, 2008 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Western Washington University MARC record |