100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Thanks for supporting our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore โค๏ธ Overnight NZ-wide Delivery ๐Ÿš€

Thorn Birds

By Colleen McCullough
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.25 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 362,224 ratings, 8,885 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough is a sweeping family saga set in the Australian outback, spanning several decades. It explores the complex relationships within the Cleary family, with a focus on the forbidden love between Meggie Cleary and a Catholic priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart. The novel delves into themes of ambition, love, sacrifice, and the struggle against societal and personal constraints.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2500
Elsewhere:
$2699
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this sweeping family saga if you're drawn to multi-generational tales set against the backdrop of the Australian outback. This novel offers a rich tapestry of love, ambition, and tragedy, woven through complex characters and dramatic landscapes, sure to captivate anyone who enjoys epic storytelling and exploring the intricate dynamics within families.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The bestselling Australian novel of all time, Thorn Birds is the sweeping saga of three generations of the Cleary family.

Stoic matriarch Fee, her devoted husband, Paddy, and their headstrong daughter, Meggie, experience joy, sadness, and magnificent triumph in the cruel Australian outback. With life's unpredictability, it is love that is their unifying thread, but it is a love shadowed by the anguish of forbidden passions. For Meggie loves Father Ralph de Bricassart, a man who wields enormous power within the Catholic Church...

As powerful, moving, and unforgettable as when it originally appeared, The Thorn Birds remains a novel to be read... and read again.

'A heart-rending epic ... truly marvellous' - Chicago Tribune

'A perfect read ... The kind of book the word "blockbuster" was made for' - Boston Globe

'Beautiful ... compelling entertainment' - New York Times

Lists

Historical Fiction Brought to the Screen

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough is often praised for its sweeping, epic narrative and its intricate exploration of familial ties and forbidden love. Set against the backdrop of the Australian outback, reviewers appreciate the richly drawn characters and the emotional depth McCullough brings to the complexity of the Cleary family saga. While some find it melodramatic, many readers are captivated by its vivid storytelling and compelling themes.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780732297497

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 November 2015

Country: Australia

Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 45.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 518g

Pages: 752

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Colleen McCullough Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction

About the Author

Colleen McCullough was born in New South Wales in 1937. A neuroscientist by training, she worked in hospitals in Sydney, London and Yale. By night, she wrote -- and her second novel, "The Thorn Birds" (1977) became a global bestseller. She published 25 novels, ranging from love stories to crime fiction, including the monumental, seven-volume "Masters of Rome" historical fiction series.

Also by Colleen McCullough

View all
  • First Man In Rome
    Part of the acclaimed Masters of Rome series The first book in the epic Masters of Rome series. Rome, 110 BC. A city which is home to Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth. It is also home to Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty, a...
    By Colleen McCullough
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Song Of Troy
    The tragic and terrible drama of the war between Greeks and Trojans, the long siege of Troy, and the impact of one woman's beauty on the fate of two nations is played out again in this dazzling novel based on Homer's Iliad. Meet enchanting Helen, who we first encounter as a spoiled teenager and whose passion for the handsome, reckless...
    By Colleen McCullough
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3199
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Ladies of Missalonghi
    An endearing tale, full of wit, warmth and romance, from the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds. The Hurlingford family have ruled the small town of Byron, nestled in the Blue Mountains, for generations. Wealthy, powerful and cruel, they get what they want, every time. Missy Wright lives with her widowed mother and crippled aunt in genteel poverty. Hurlingfords by...
    By Colleen McCullough
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people โ€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Score
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragonsโ€ฆ Raeveโ€™s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor โ€“ a staunch beacon from a past sheโ€™s yet to face. With Rekkโ€™s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE โ€” Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE โ€” Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE โ€” Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS โ€” Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale โ€” Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromโ€ฆHis name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance โ€“...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Golden Son
    ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....
    By Pierce Brown
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Mistake
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    By Andy Weir
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all