The Thorn Birds

infobox Book |
name = The Thorn Birds
title_orig =
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image_caption =
author = Colleen McCullough
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Australia
language = English
series =
genre = Family saga novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = April 1977
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 692
isbn = ISBN 0-06-012956-5 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Thorn Birds" is a 1977 best-selling novel by Colleen McCullough, an Australian author.

In 1983 it was adapted as a television mini-series that, during its television run, became the United States' second highest rating mini-series of all time behind "Roots"; both series were produced by television veteran David L. Wolper.

The mini-series starred Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown, Mare Winningham, Philip Anglim, and Jean Simmons. It was directed by Daryl Duke.

Set primarily on Drogheda, a fictional sheep station in the Australian outback, the story focuses on the Cleary family and spans the years 1915 to 1969.

The author's own brother, Karl, drowned at the age of 25 in 1965 while rescuing some people in Malia in Crete. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s2041318.htm "Enough Rope" - Transcript of McCullough interview with Andrew Denton] (24 September 2007)] This event was mirrored in the drowning death of "Dane", one of the book's characters.

Plot summary

The epic begins with Meghann "Meggie" Cleary, a four-year-old girl living in New Zealand in the early twentieth century, the only daughter of Paddy, an Irish farm labourer, and Fee, his harassed but aristocratic-looking wife. Although Meggie is a beautiful child with curly red-gold hair, she receives little coddling and must struggle to hold her own against her numerous older brothers. Of these brothers, her favourite is the eldest, Frank, a rebellious young man who is unwillingly preparing himself for the blacksmith's trade. He is much shorter than his brothers, but very strong; also, unlike the other Clearys, he has black hair and eyes. Paddy is poor, but has a wealthy sister, Mary Carson, who lives in Australia on an enormous sheep station called Drogheda. One day, Paddy receives a letter from Mary offering him a job on her estate. He accepts, and the whole family moves to the Outback.

Here Meggie meets Father Ralph de Bricassart, a young, capable, and ambitious priest who, as punishment for insulting a bishop, has been relegated to a remote parish in the town of Gillanbone, near Drogheda. Ralph has befriended Mary, hoping a hefty enough bequest from her to the Catholic church might liberate him from his exile. Ralph is strikingly handsome; "a beautiful man"; and Mary, who doesn't bother to conceal her desire for him, often goes to great lengths to see if he can be induced to break his vows. Ralph blandly shrugs off these attentions and continues his visits. Meanwhile, he cares for all the Clearys and soon learns to cherish beautiful but forlorn little Meggie. Meggie, in return, makes Ralph the center of her life.

Frank's relationship with his father, Paddy, has never been peaceful. The two vie for Fee's attention, and Frank resents the many pregnancies Paddy makes her endure. One day, after Fee, now in her forties, reveals she is again pregnant, the two men quarrel violently and Paddy blurts out the truth about Frank: He is not Paddy's son. Long ago, Fee had been the adored only daughter of a prominent citizen. Then, she had an affair with a married politician, and the result — Frank — was already eighteen-months-old when her mortified father married her off to Paddy. Because he resembles her lost love, Fee has always loved Frank more than her other children. To the sorrow of Meggie and Fee, when Frank learns that Paddy is not his father, he runs away to become a boxer. Fee later gives birth to twin boys, James and Patrick (Jims and Patsy), but shows little interest in them. Shortly afterward, Meggie's beloved little brother, Hal, dies.

With Frank gone and Hal dead, Meggie clings to Ralph more than ever. This goes largely unnoticed because Ralph has now been her mentor for several years; however, as she ripens into womanhood, some begin to question their close relationship, including Ralph and Meggie themselves. Mary Carson has also noticed their changing relationship, and from motives of jealousy mingled with Machiavellian cruelty, she devises a plan to separate Ralph from Meggie by tempting him with his heart's desire: a high place in the Church hierarchy. Although her will of record leaves the bulk of her estate to Paddy, she quietly writes a new one, making the Roman Catholic Church the main beneficiary and Ralph the executor.

In the new will, the true magnitude of Mary's wealth is finally revealed. Drogheda is not the center of her fortune as Ralph and Paddy have long believed but is merely a "hobby", a diversion from her true financial interests. Mary's wealth is derived from a vast multi-national financial empire worth over thirteen million Pounds (about AU$85 million in modern terms). The sheer size of Mary's bequest will virtually guarantee Ralph's rapid rise in the church. She also makes sure that after she dies only Ralph, at first, will know of the new will — forcing him to choose between Meggie and his own ambition. She also provides for her disinherited brother, promising him and all his descendants a home on Drogheda as long as they wish.

At Mary's seventy-second birthday party, Ralph goes to great lengths to avoid Meggie, now seventeen and dressed in a beautiful rose-pink evening gown; later, he explains that others might not see his attention as innocent. Mary dies in the night. Ralph duly learns of the new will. He sees at once the subtle genius of Mary's plan and, although he weeps and calls her "a disgusting old spider" he takes the new will to her lawyer without delay. The lawyer, scandalised, urges Ralph to destroy the will, but to no avail. The bequest of thirteen million pounds works its expected magic, and Ralph soon leaves to begin his rapid advance in the Church.

Before he leaves, Meggie confesses her love for him. Ralph refuses her because of his duties as a priest and begs Meggie to find someone to love and marry.

The Clearys learn that Frank has been convicted of murder after killing someone in a fight. He spends three decades in prison.

Paddy and his son Stuart are killed; Paddy dies in a lightning fire, and Stu is killed by a wild boar shortly after finding his father's body. Meanwhile, Ralph, unaware of Paddy and Stu's deaths, is on his way to Drogheda and suffers minor injuries when his plane bogs in the mud. As Meggie tends his wounds, they share a passionate kiss. Ralph remains at Drogheda only long enough to conduct the funerals.

Three years later, a new ranch worker named Luke O'Neill begins to court Meggie. Although his motives are more mercenary than romantic, she marries him because he looks a little bit like Ralph. She soon realises her mistake. After a brief honeymoon, Luke, a skinflint who regards women as sex objects and prefers the company of men, finds Meggie a live-in job with a kindly couple, the Muellers, and leaves to join a gang of itinerant sugarcane cutters in North Queensland. Before he leaves, he appropriates all Meggie's savings and arranges to have her wages paid directly to him. He tells her he's saving money to buy a homestead; however, he quickly becomes obsessed with the competitive toil of cane-cutting and has no real intention of giving it up. Hoping to change Luke's ambition and settle him down, Meggie purposely becomes pregnant and bears Luke a red-haired daughter, Justine. The new baby, however, makes little impression on Luke.

Father Ralph visits Meggie during her difficult labor; he has come to say goodbye, as he is leaving Australia for Rome. He sees Meggie's unhappiness for himself, and pities her. Justine proves to be a fractious baby, so the Muellers send Meggie to an isolated island resort for a rest. Father Ralph returns to Australia, learns of Meggie's whereabouts from Anne Mueller, and joins her for several days. There, at last, the lovers consummate their passion, and Ralph realizes that despite his ambition to be the perfect priest, his desire for Meggie makes him a man like other men. Father Ralph returns to the Church and Meggie, pregnant with Ralph's child, decides to separate from Luke. She spends one last night with him to disguise the unborn baby's scandalous parentage; the next morning, she tells Luke what she really thinks of him, and returns to Drogheda, leaving him to his cane-cutting.

Back home, she gives birth to a beautiful boy whom she names Dane. Fee, who has had experience in such matters, notices Dane's resemblance to Ralph as soon as he is born. The relationship between Meggie and Fee takes a turn for the better. Justine grows into an independent, keenly intelligent girl who loves her brother dearly; however, she has little use for anyone else, and calmly rebuffs Meggie's overtures of motherly affection.

Eventually, Frank is released from prison and he also returns to Drogheda; his spirit, however, is broken, and all his restless ambition is gone. None of Meggie's other brothers ever marry, and Drogheda gradually becomes a place filled with old people.

Ralph visits Drogheda after a long absence and meets Dane for the first time; and although he finds himself strangely drawn to the boy, he fails to recognise that they are father and son. Dane grows up and decides, to Meggie's dismay, to become a priest. Fee tells Meggie that what she stole from God she must now give back. Justine, meanwhile, decides to become an actress and leaves Australia to seek her dream in England. Ralph, now a Cardinal, becomes a mentor to Dane, but still blinds himself to the fact that the young man is his own son. Dane is also unaware of their true relationship. Ralph takes great care of him, and because of their resemblance people mistake them for uncle and nephew. Ralph and Dane encourage the rumour.

Dane vacations in Greece while a civil war is underway. While there, he goes swimming one day and, after rescuing two women from a dangerous current, suddenly dies from a heart attack. Meggie, desperate to find his body, seeks Ralph's help. When he refuses, she reveals her trump card: Dane is Ralph's son. Ralph, now as grief-stricken as Meggie, flies with her to Greece; together, they bring their son's body back to Drogheda. Ralph dies in Meggie's arms after the funeral.

Justine, now the sole surviving grandchild of Fee and Paddy Cleary, finally accepts the advances of Rainer, a distinguished German politician who has loved her for years. They marry, but have no plans to live on Drogheda.

The book's title refers to a mythical bird that searches for thorn trees from the day it is hatched. When it finds the perfect thorn, it impales itself and, singing the most beautiful song ever heard as it dies.

List of characters

*Meghann "Meggie" Cleary The central character, the only daughter in a large family of sons. The novel takes her from early childhood to old age.
*Father Ralph de Bricassart Meggie's true love, a handsome Irish Catholic priest.
*Padraic "Paddy" Cleary Meggie's father, a kind and simple laboring Irishman.
*Fiona "Fee" Armstrong Cleary Paddy's wife and Meggie's mother, an aristocratic woman who has come down in the world.
*Francis Armstrong Cleary Meggie's eldest brother, Fee's illegitimate first son. A favourite with Meggie and Fee both.
*Mary Elizabeth Cleary Carson Paddy's immensely wealthy older sister; Father Ralph's benefactor; owner of Drogheda.
*Luke O'Neill Meggie's husband during an unhappy three-year marriage; father of Justine.
*Dane O'Neill Son of Meggie and Ralph, Meggie's pride and joy, died at the age of twenty-six drown in Greece
*Justine O'Neill Daughter of Meggie and Luke, an intelligent, independent girl. At the end, she is the only surviving grandchild of Paddy and Fee Cleary.
*Luddie and Anne Mueller Meggie's employers during her marriage to Luke. They become lifelong friends.
*Bob, Jack, and Hughie Cleary Meggie's older brothers. They all resemble Paddy and live out their days, unmarried, on Drogheda.
*Stuart "Stu" Cleary A quiet, kindly boy who resembles his mother and is closest to Meggie in age.
*Harold "Hal" Cleary Meggie's cherished baby brother. He dies when he's four years old.
*James and Patrick "Jims and Patsy" Cleary Twin boys, Meggie's youngest brothers.
*Rainer "Rain" Moerling Harheim Friend of Ralph and eventually Dane. Member of the West German Parliament and eventual husband of Justine
*Archbishop (later Cardinal) di Contini-Verchese Ralph's mentor, friend to Rainer and Dane

References

External links

* [http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=268 Photos of the first edition of The Thorn Birds]