The Thorn Birds - 25th Edition by Colleen McCullough (Paperback)

About the Book

In the rugged Australian Outback, "The Thorn Birds" follows three generations of the extraordinary Cleary family 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.

Book Synopsis

"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

From the Back Cover

Now, 25 years after it first took the world by storm, 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. As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, it remains a monumental literary achievement--a landmark novel to be read . . . and read again!

Review Quotes

"A perfect Read...The kind of book the world blockbuster was made"--"Boston Globe"A heart-rending epic...truly marvelous"--"Chicago Tribune"Beautiful...compelling entertaiment--