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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
The Thorn Birds is the unforgettable story of the Clearys, spanning three generations; a sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback. (Source: Trove)
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Thorn Birds
( dir. Daryl Duke
)
Los Angeles
:
David Wolper - Stan Margulies Productions
,
1983
Z1287350
1983
single work
film/TV
This four-part mini-series, set in Australia, covers forty-two years in the life of Ralph de Bricassart, a Roman Catholic priest who engages in a constant struggle between his calling and his carnal desires. In part one, a young Father Ralph is sent to administer a parish in outback Australia and finds himself drawn into a relationship with Mary Carson, owner of a massive sheep station. Here, too, he begins a close friendship with Carson's niece, Meggie Cleary, then a child. In part two, a bush fire destroys the Carson home and much of the station and stock. Later, having previously succumbed to their mutual passion, Father Ralph and Meggie experience an uncomfortable reunion. The politically ambitious Ralph also forms a strong and beneficial alliance with Archbishop Contini-Verchese, one of Rome's most influential religious leaders. Part three finds Meggie disillusioned after entering into an unhappy marriage. She eventually ends up working as a housemaid on a Queensland sugar-cane plantation, but later finds out that she is pregnant. The final episode, part four, covers a timespan of nearly thirty years (1935-1962) and focuses on the lives of Meggie's children, the flamboyant aspiring actress Justine and would-be priest Dane, neither of whom are initially aware of the past relationship between their mother and Father Ralph (aka Cardinal de Bricassart).
- form y The Thorn Birds : The Missing Years ( dir. Kevin James Dobson ) United States of America (USA) Australia : The Wolper Organization Warner Brothers CBS Village Roadshow , 1996 Z1687957 1996 single work film/TV Picks up the story of The Thorn Birds from the German occupation of Rome and the Allied landing in Sicily. It follows the main character's eventual return to the endless miles of the Australian outback, where he must confront his passion, faith, and ultimate fate.
- The Thorn Birds Gloria Bruni (composer), 2009 single work musical theatre
Notes
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Dedication: For 'big sister' Jean Easthope
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Also published in the series, Penguin Readers, Level 6; retold by Ann Ward (1998); and as part of a Reader's Digest Condensed Book, The Thorn Birds : and other stories (1978).
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Also translated into other languages not listed here.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
- Braille.
- Sound recording. (Vietnamese)
Works about this Work
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form
y
The Book Club [December 2014]
Sydney
:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
,
2014
15255125
2014
film/TV
Host Jennifer Byrne joins regular panelists Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger, and guests Graeme Simsion and Kitty Flanagan to discuss "The Top 10 Classic Beach Books".
-
Books that Changed Me : Rachael Treasure
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 17 February 2013; (p. 14) The Sunday Age , 17 February 2013; (p. 14) -
Success a Thorn in Author's Side
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 5 October 2013; (p. 3) -
Books that Changed Me : Anne McCullagh Rennie
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 12 August 2012; (p. 14) -
Writing on the Sheep's Back
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Author , June vol. 44 no. 2 2012; (p. 13-15) 'Bush fiction has a long and proud tradition in Australia but it has enjoyed a new lease of life over the past decade. Why is it booming agaian and what's different this time.' Nicole Alexander.
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On My Bedside Table
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 11 April 2009; (p. 28)
— Review of The Thorn Birds 1977 single work novel -
Corn Birds : A Reply to Dorothy Green
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , October vol. 21 no. 10 1977; (p. 71-72)
— Review of The Thorn Birds 1977 single work novel -
Porn Birds
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , July vol. 21 no. 7 1977; (p. 70-72)
— Review of The Thorn Birds 1977 single work novel -
Untitled
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 7 October 1977; (p. 1135)
— Review of The Thorn Birds 1977 single work novel -
Untitled
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: Nation Review , 9-15 June 1977; (p. 16)
— Review of The Thorn Birds 1977 single work novel -
Regional Publishing Remains a Closed Book
1993
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Australian , 10 November 1993; (p. 19) -
Thorn Bird Country
1979
single work
column
— Appears in: Waves (Canada) , vol. 7 no. 4 1979; (p. 36-37) -
Here's to You Mrs Robinson
1989
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 18-19 November 1989; (p. 30-38) -
I Colleen
2007
single work
biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 10 February 2007; (p. 26) -
TBR : Inside the List
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 1July vol. 112 no. 26 2007; (p. 18)
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cAustralia,c
-
cNew Zealand,cPacific Region,
- Australian Outback, Central Australia,
- 1910s
- 1920s
- 1930s
- 1940s
- 1950s
- 1960s