It was her bookishness that saved Col from her background. She may have convinced herself, with some justification, that a repeat performance of The Thorn Birds was simply not possible. The Thorn Birds can be read as a fantasy autobiography, a hymn of repressed longing, electric with sexual tension, conceived and nurtured in the mind of a bookish teenager born of an unkind father and an uncaring mother and raised in the poverty and isolation of a rural backwater. But there was, perhaps, a deeper truth behind her decision. This was, at least in part, because she rejected the idea of a sequel, which would have brought her a great deal of money, on the grounds that another such outing would typecast her as a writer of romantic novels for women or, as she put it, “chook books”. The book was turned into a popular UK television miniseries, with Richard Chamberlain playing Ralph and Rachel Ward as Meggie.Ĭol wrote 23 more books, but none came near the success of The Thorn Birds. Described by Germaine Greer as “the best bad book I have ever read”, it was the tale of the doomed love affair between a country girl, Meggie Cleary, and a priest, Ralph de Bricassart, set in “a typical settlement on the very edge of the back of beyond”.

Kirkus Reviews put it simply, 'a colorful tale about colorful characters in colorful places and times.' Meanwhile, for Booklist, Patty Engelmann praised it as 'a fantastic and exceptional saga about the lively personalities and explosive situations that shaped Australia.Colleen McCullough, who has died aged 77, found international fame as the author of The Thorn Birds, a 600-page romance that became the bestselling Australian novel of all time, with sales of 30m in dozens of languages. Publishers Weekly wrote that the plot was complex, but the characters won sympathy through honor. In the Historical Novels Review, Andrea Connel called it, 'a compelling new perspective on the romantic theme of the mail- order bride' but went on to say that it was cold and impersonal, ultimately not enjoying the book. The story takes place over the latter half of the 19th century. It is about the life of a Scotswoman, Elizabeth Drummond, who travels from her home in Kinross, Scotland to New South Wales in order to marry her wealthy cousin, Alexander Kinross. The Touch is a historical novel by Colleen McCullough published in 2003.

Bittersweet book colleen mccullough