The thorn birds - Colleen McCullough

A stormy panorama of passion and grief... a uniquely moving love story that spans generations... a blockbuster that stretches from Australia to the Vatican, from New Zealand to London...

The Thorn Birds begins in 1915 when Paddy Cleary, a poor New Zealand farm labourer, moves his wife and their seven children to Drogheda, the vast Australian sheep station owned by his rich, childless, aging sister. It ends after the Second World War with the only survivor of the third generation—the brilliant actress Justine O'Neill—sets a course of life and love that will take her round the world from her roots.

At the heart of the cast of characters is Meggie, only daughter among the seven Cleary children, who is the heroine of the book's story: Meggie whose passionate, forbidden love for the magnificent priest Ralph de Bricassart would span more than half a century...