The Thorn Birds genre. "The Thorn Birds": a story of tragic love

Australian writer Colleen McCullough has died at the age of 77 after a series of heart attacks.

Writer Colleen McCullough, who gave the world one of the most popular novels of the 20th century, The Thorn Birds, died in hospital on Norfolk Island in Australia on January 29.

In recent years, McCullough was confined to a wheelchair and suffered from numerous heart attacks.

The Thorn Birds is a best-selling novel (in seven parts) from 1977, telling the story of the initially poor New Zealand Cleary family, who over the years became stewards of one of Australia's largest estates, Drogheda. Love in the spotlight youngest daughter Cleary - Maggie and the ambitious Catholic priest Ralph de Bricassart, who are prevented from being together by the latter's celibacy.

Their meetings and partings drove readers around the world crazy for decades, scolding Ralph for his indecisiveness. Liters of tears have been shed over The Thorn Birds.

In 1983, a mini-series of the same name was filmed based on the novel, which was awarded several Golden Globes. Both the book and the film begin with a preface:

“There is such a legend about a bird that sings only once in its entire life, but is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and will not rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches she begins to sing a song and throws herself on the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the unspeakable torment, he sings so, dying, that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this jubilant song. The only, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world stands still, listening, and God himself smiles in heaven. For all the best is bought only at the price of great suffering... At least that’s what the legend says.”

In total, Colleen McCullough wrote 11 novels, but none of her works became as famous in the world as The Thorn Birds.

The Thorn Birds Colin McCullough

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Title: The Thorn Birds

About the book "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough's incredible and powerful novel The Thorn Birds won the hearts of thousands of readers... Try it too.

In front of you - summary“The Thorn Birds”, and at the bottom of the page you can download the book in fb2, epub, rtf, txt.

Colleen McCullough is an excellent American writer, born in 1937 in New Zealand. In 1974, she published her first novel, and three years later the novel “The Thorn Birds” was published, which became a bestseller and brought Colleen fame and recognition. This is a story about three generations of an Australian family, workers, seekers of their happiness. The novel glorifies the strong, deep feelings that arise between people, love for the land, for their homeland. The book is full of colorful descriptions Australian nature, life of local residents.

The story begins in 1915 and spans half a century. The novel is divided into 7 parts, in which the characters of the main characters are revealed and colorfully described. Central to the plot of the novel was the life of the Cleary family, which made a difficult journey from the New Zealand poor to the managers of the Drogheda estates.

The first part of the book describes the life large family, with her everyday work, hard work, teaching children in the Catholic Church, poverty and dullness that accompanied the life of the family. Another child, Maggie, was born into this family. Then the head of the family, along with his children, is invited to a good position on the Drogheda estate by his sister. The family moves to the estate, and all further development of the plot takes place in this area.

The novel glorifies kindness, philanthropy, decency, respect, romantic and devoted relationships between a man and a woman, devotion to family and family values. At the end of the novel, good wins. Patience and work are rewarded, and justice has triumphed. The author points out that you need to work hard to achieve something. This is very important for modern society, where everyone wants more for less effort. Although the novel was written relatively long ago, it raises questions that are relevant to this day.

McCullough's The Thorn Birds is worth reading because it not only describes a loving family's journey from poverty to riches, but also a subtle, sensitive love story. Namely, through the entire plot there is a line about the relationship of young people who love each other, but cannot be together, because the girl is afraid that when she falls in love with young man and dissolve in him, he will again cause her incredible pain, which this time she may not be able to bear.

The book “The Thorn Birds” is very kind and should be read by everyone, regardless of their age. It is interesting to read not only about how people from different classes lived before, but also why some were poor and others were rich. Much attention is paid to love - an all-consuming feeling. Love and pain go side by side, and it depends on you and your soul mate what will be more. In this work, everyone will find what they are looking for in real life. And perhaps the answers to the questions will help you change yourself and make our world a little kinder.

The novel "The Thorn Birds" was filmed.

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Quotes from The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

The most the best women It’s the hardest thing for everyone, that’s what I’ll tell you.

A bird with a thorn in its breast obeys the immutable law of nature; She herself does not know what kind of force makes her throw herself at the edge and die singing. At that moment when the thorn pierces her heart, she does not think about near death, she just sings and sings until her voice runs out and her breath stops.

Tears blinded her, her heart was torn with grief, previously unknown to her - after all, she had never had anything of her own that was worth grieving about.

Old age is the most cruel vengeance that the vengeful God brings down on us. Why doesn’t it also age our souls?

She deserves a better fate, but she was not born for the best.

After all, only those who have slipped and fallen at least once know the vicissitudes of the path.

How scary it is that one single person means so much, embodies so much.

There's a purpose to getting old too, Maggie. She gives us a break before death so that we have time to figure out why we lived the way we did.

A man is like a man. You are all the same, these huge hairy moths, trying with all your might to reach some stupid light, beating against clear glass and you won’t be able to see him at all. And if you manage to get through the glass, you climb straight into the fire and get burned, and that’s the end. But there is shade and coolness nearby, there is food and love, and you can get new little moths. But do you see this, do you want this? Nothing like this! You are again drawn to the fire, and you fight, fight until you feel insensible, until you burn!

I will never, never, never love anyone! Just try to love a person - and he kills you. Just feel that you can’t live without someone, and he kills you. I'm telling you, people are all the same in this regard!

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If the female characters - Fiona, Justina and especially Maggie - are felt as alive, in their carnal reality and originality, then Ralph de Bricassart is written in a purely romantic vein. There is even a stamp of obvious idealization on him: a man of rare beauty, highly educated, charming, a born diplomat, not just a spiritual mentor to his flock, but also able to be a simple shepherd, a sheepdog, despite his refined manners, a jack of all trades, the object of Mary Carson’s unfulfilled desires , like other women, firmly remaining faithful to the Catholic principles of celibacy for clergy, he, submitting to ascetic dogma, seems to have firmly suppressed human passions and attractions in himself.

Meeting Maggie transforms him. Even then, he notices in her that subtle charm of femininity that will make up the essence of her nature. This is exactly how it will remain in the memory of readers. This friendship between a priest and a teenage girl is touching in its own way, a friendship that develops into affection, then into love, still vague and unconscious for Maggie. Throughout her life she will carry this feeling to her first and only chosen one, and that crumpled rose that accidentally survived the fire, which she gives to Ralph, will become the key to the strength of her love, a multi-valued symbol.

There is probably a touch of sentimentality and even literature in this slightly sad story of two “monogamous” people.

To some readers it may seem far from real life. But let’s take into account the genre features of this novel. Is it permissible to measure the romantic thickening of colors by the standards of everyday verisimilitude? It seems that the love of Maggie and Ralph has its own deep truth, expressing all the strength and tragedy of this feeling in its highest manifestations.

Switching to last parts The novel focuses on Dan and Justina - those who represent the third generation, the writer turns to new ideological and moral conflicts. Maggie's children are already violating the family's devotion to the land. Dan, a wonderful and pure young man, will follow in his father’s footsteps, become a Catholic priest, and join the Jesuit order. His tragic death will be a fatal blow for Ralph as well.

Of course, there is a certain idealization in the depiction of Dan, like his father. And yet the writer’s attitude towards Catholicism is not without a critical element. Affirming the eternal value of everything, original, living, natural, the novelist

The very logic of the events recreated by her reveals the inhumanity of the Catholic dogma of celibacy of the clergy, which is a challenge to human nature itself. This problem has been readily discussed in literature since the Renaissance: in the short stories of Boccaccio, for example, the sophisticated tricks of monks, whose carnal lusts rebel against the prohibitions imposed on them by the rank, were wittily played out. In the novel, serving the Catholic God actually means renouncing life; it turns into the deepest life drama for Ralph and Maggie. The writer will put into the mouth of her heroine words of bitter reproach to the Almighty, who took her beloved away from her. And to Ralph himself, in the face of Maggie’s earthly beauty, God will sometimes seem like “a colossus with feet of clay.” Ralph's pride and ambition, his devotion to the dignity will ultimately reveal all their ephemerality against the backdrop of real earthly love - perhaps the most beautiful thing he has known in life. The novel's historicism is also evident in the depiction of various generations of the Cleary family. Maggie's daughter Justina, who became an actress, left native home and living in Europe - another interestingly conceived female image. She bears the Cleary family traits, is proud, independent, independent, and at the same time she is a person of a different time, her range of interests and ideals are wider than those of her slightly “provincial” parents, and her moral standards are different, free. Next to her, the figure of her beloved Hartheim seems, however, pale, the very history of their relationship is somewhat far-fetched; in describing it, the writer, it seems, is straying into the cliches of a “secular” novel, recreating “ beautiful life» people who are not burdened with material worries.

In general, when depicting her characters, Colleen McCullough avoids halftones; she gravitates toward bold, sharp lines, piercing and catchy colors. Ralph de Bricassart is not only generous and brilliantly educated, he is also a phenomenon of rare physical perfection. This is how, for example, Mary Carson sees Ralph: “...tall, impeccably built, a thin aristocratic face, amazing harmony and completeness in his whole appearance - not all of God’s creations are given so generously. All of him, from his wavy black curls and amazing blue eyes down to the small graceful hands and feet, truly perfection.” Before us are the tried and tested attributes of a romantic portrait. The appearance of a number of other characters - Fiona, Maggie, almost all members of the Cleary clan - is distinguished by the same expressiveness and originality.

The bright and surprising triumphs in the novel over the mundane, prosaic, everyday. Fiona's lover, Frank's father, is not just a famous person, But statesman, after whom the streets in his homeland are named. Justina not only becomes an actress, she shines in the Shakespearean repertoire - in the roles of Ophelia and Desdemona. Mary Carson - richest woman Australia. Ralph de Bricassart, who began his journey in the Australian outback, is making a dizzying career. His ancient noble family dates back more than one and a half thousand years, his distant ancestor was a baron under William the Conqueror, and everyone before Bricassara, true Catholics, staunchly defended the faith. Ralph comes to Maggie on Matlock Island, deserted and fabulously beautiful.

Even the very departure of the heroes from life, as a rule, is illuminated in a particularly tragic light. Dan, who inherited from Ralph not only physical but also moral qualities, dies at sea while saving two women; Paddy dies in a forest fire; Stuart is killed by a wild boar; Ralph takes his last breath in Maggie's arms.

The romantic tendency of the novel makes itself felt in the peculiar atmosphere of chastity diffused in it, in the emphasis on the motives of loneliness and celibacy. This is the result of widowhood (Fiona and Mary Carson), an unsuccessful family life (Maggie), many years in prison (Frank), divorce (Lion Hartheim), and membership in the Catholic clergy (Ralph de Bricassart and Dan). In some cases, this trait, for example among Maggie’s brothers Bob, Jack and Hugh, who remained unmarried, seems psychologically unreliable, although Fiona speaks of the coldness inherent in all representatives of the Cleary family. In general, the behavior of the heroes in love, their inexperience, has a noticeable touch of “Victorianism”, “gentility”, seems to be a return to the classic English novels of the last century, so revered by Australians. The favorite books of the Cleary family - both children and parents - were romantic adventure works aimed at adolescence, where a kiss, not to mention any risqué descriptions, was a rarity.

True, against the background of this chaste atmosphere of the novel, several intimate scenes stand out, quite naturalistic. Of course, they play a significant role in outlining the psychological appearance of the heroes and characterize the moral concepts of different generations of Cleary. For example, Maggie's first wedding night, described in detail, allows her to discover in Luke a rude person who is deeply alien to her. It is possible that the “model” for the writer was the corresponding scene from Maupassant’s novel “La Vie”, so important for the characterization of Julien de Lamar. The meeting of Maggie and Ralph on Matlock Island, on the contrary, is cleared of physiological details: it appears as the high apotheosis of true love. Justina, quite modern girl“without prejudice”, during a date with Arthur Lestrange, he wants to learn the “technique” of love. And yet, in this scene, as well as in the description of Maggie’s first wedding night, there are clearly “excessive” details in which the writer pays tribute to “fashionable” samples.

However, these episodes are not what determine general atmosphere works. Colin McCullough's heroes are conscientious people, experiencing conflicts of passion and duty, pride; love for them is a persistent, serious feeling. It seems that time has no power over their souls. For years they keep their secrets and endure loneliness.

But the main thing about them is that they follow their nature, their inner essence, they go their own way. Both the title of the novel and the old Celtic legend in the epigraph about a bird throwing itself on sharp thorns and singing an amazingly beautiful song before its death are reminiscent of this deep idea of ​​the work: “Everything best is bought only at the price of great suffering.” The image of this bird appears as a leitmotif in the text of the book: we are returned to it final lines novel.

Frank, Luke, Dan, and Justina go their own way. They are not able to give up their convictions or change their character. Maggie and Ralph can’t do anything about the feeling that gripped them; it brings them both great pain and great happiness...

The originality of the novel lies in the fact that the writer’s concentration on the moral and psychological conflicts experienced by her characters is combined in the novel with a wide panorama of reality, with the scale of geographical and historical horizons. This clearly shows the realistic tendency of the work. Particularly interesting from an educational point of view are the Australian parts of the novel, specific descriptions of specifically national forms of everyday life, fairs, dance evenings, life on a farm, in a monastery school, the Silida festival in Queensland, and so on. At the same time, no matter how separated Drogheda may be from " big world", the imperious wind of history reaches her, it carries away the heroes of the novel, determines their destinies. The action moves from New Zealand to Australia, from New South Wales to Queensland, from Sydney to London, to Bonn and Rome, to Athens, North Africa, to the islands Pacific Ocean. The novelist has a high sense of history. And this is the most important sign of modern realistic art.

The Cleary family is a model of national history. This idea is emphasized by the very composition of the novel, which is divided into parts named after the characters and placed within a strictly defined chronological framework. By tracing the genealogy of some of his subjects, McCullough provides important insights into Australian history and economics. History is not only the background against which the fates of the heroes play out. As the plot develops and approaches modernity, its breath is felt more and more clearly in the novel. Recalling the events of the First World War, the novelist, through the mouth of Padrick Cleary, an Irishman who remembers the oppression of his homeland, condemns the self-interest of English colonialism, as well as the jingoistic propaganda of which Frank almost fell victim. The novel mentions attempts by the official press to glorify the Gallipoli operation, which from a military point of view was an adventure inspired by the then Secretary of the Navy Churchill. Australian and New Zealand soldiers paid for this inglorious action with thousands of lives.

The famous Australian socialist poet Henry Lawson once wrote about Australia:

Those who said that there is no need and poverty here,

Apparently they had their own reason for coming up with this lie.

With his novel, Colin McCullough also challenges the myth of a happy, ever-prosperous Australia, this almost “promised land”. The characterization of the severe economic crisis of the 1930s, which affected the whole country and was very noticeable in Drogheda, is expressive. This crisis, long and painful, leaves a heavy mark on the souls of people: thousands of vagabond laborers, “swagmen,” wander along the roads of the country, they often feed on the alms of wealthy farmers, subsist on small day labor, others find their end by dying on the road...

The events of the Second World War, which involve the heroes of the book, are also covered in the novel. Cleary's two sons, Patrick and James, twins and inseparable friends, find themselves in the ranks of the Ninth Australian Division fighting the Nazis in North Africa. First, it was blocked in besieged Tobruk, then transferred to El Alamein, where in the fall of 1942, under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery, it took part in the famous battle that led to the defeat of Rommel’s corps and the beginning of the liberation of North Africa.

Probably, the battle scenes of the novel will seem naive and not convincing enough to the Soviet reader. In general, the theme of war and its influence on the fate of the heroes in the novel does not sound as vivid as we would like, which, however, has its own explanations. Although Australia contributed to the defeat of German and especially Japanese fascism, the war did not leave such a tragic mark on the life of its people, and the sacrifices it suffered cannot be compared with what befell Soviet Union, his army and civilians.

However, the anti-fascist orientation of the novel is obvious. Resorting to historical fiction, the writer introduces several important scenes concerning Bricassart's activities in the Vatican during the war. Ralph de Bricassart represents those forces within the Catholic Church that were in opposition to Nazism and its misanthropic doctrines. It was in Ralph’s mouth that the writer put a sharp and insightful debunking of the pro-German position of Pope Pius XII. Rejecting the thesis of the “infallibility” of the pope, Ralph states: “His judgment is biased. All his efforts are aimed at fighting communism. Germany for him is the most reliable enemy of communism, the only obstacle to the advancement of communism to the West, and he wants Hitler to remain firmly in power in Germany, just as he is quite happy with Mussolini as the ruler of Italy.”

In this seemingly private episode, the writer touches on a pressing political issue, aligning herself with the West German playwright Rolf Hochhuth, who in his famous play “The Viceroy” accused Pope Pius XII of criminally refusing to raise his voice against the mass repressions carried out by the Nazis.

Together with de Bricassart, the internal opposition to Nazism is represented by Lyon Hartheim, who, while still a young man, a Wehrmacht soldier, met with the cardinal in the dramatic days of July 1943 in the Vatican. True, the nature of his political activities is spoken of in the novel rather mutely; one can, however, conclude that Lion Hartheim is an opponent of the “extremes” of Nazi ideology, an adherent of a broad bourgeois-democratic platform. Of course, there were many Catholics in the ranks of anti-fascists in Italy, France, and Germany. However, and this will be noted by the Soviet reader of the book, the decisive role in the European Resistance was played by the active, heroic struggle of the left forces, primarily the communists. Unfortunately, their activities are beyond the writer’s sight.

The realism of the novel, as already noted, is manifested in unforgettable brightness, accurately and detailed pictures of nature and landscapes. And here the art of Colleen McCullough grows out of a national tradition that has deep historical roots.

Since the last century, the poeticization of the “bush” - the virgin Australian bush - has entered the literature. Like the American pioneers who explored the "frontier", the Australian pioneers made their way through the "bush"; there their character was tempered, perseverance and hard work were formed. Life in the “bush” required self-restraint, accustomed one to loneliness, it was opposed to existence in the city, which was associated with effeminacy, even sinfulness. Nature, glorified in many works of Australian poetry and prose, on the contrary, seemed to cleanse the souls of people, making it possible to see human nature itself in its integrity, free from everything superficial.

The images of nature that are constantly present in McCullough's novel, especially in the Australian part, are not just a picturesque backdrop against which events unfold. Forest thickets, pastures, sheep pastures, reeds taller than a man, thickets of bushes - all this real conditions existence for the Cleary family, firmly tied to the land. McCullough's heroes seem to be close to the eternal fundamental principles of life. And that’s probably why they are so straightforward and integral.

Some of the most memorable pictures in the novel include landscapes in the vicinity of Drogheda, this unique nature reserve Australian flora and fauna. It seems that the writer takes us to the legendary Eden, where it is completely modern people“coexist” in rare harmony with pristine nature, not subject to the destructive effects of technological progress.

This is how a unique philosophy of life arises in the novel, a kind of revived Rousseauism - as a form of confrontation between the individual and the dehumanizing “machine” civilization. The poeticization of nature, of course, constitutes the romantic element of the work, which gives it an exciting novelty against the background of modern literature with its urbanism and impregnation with material-technical realities and accessories of “mass” society.

If McCullough's poeticization of nature and peculiar Rousseauism testify to the romantic tendencies of her novel, then the realistic element appears with particular clarity in the depiction of labor. This theme has always played a prominent role in the realistic literature of Australia from the 19th century to the present day, as exemplified by the work of the already mentioned Patrick White. Mastering enormous material, generations of pioneers had to inhabit gigantic uninhabited spaces, cut down forests, sow fields, build, and herd gigantic flocks of sheep. They were pioneers who braved the elements: loggers and herdsmen, sugarcane cutters and fishermen, gold miners and fruit pickers created the wealth of Australia with their labor. All this largely determined the very structure and character of literature, prose and poetry, as well as folklore, in which the theme of nature merges with the theme of labor. Australian poetry, for example, is generally distinguished by reality and concreteness, its lyrical hero is not inclined to meditation, does not have his head in the clouds, he is as close as possible to earthly concerns. We meet the same heroes, shown in real work practice, in the stories and novels of G. Lawson, W. Palmer, K.-S. Pritchard, A. Marshall. At the same time, work is associated not just with prosaic earnings: its high ethical value has been revealed. That's why not only traditional themes literature - love, travel, grief and joy, but even such seemingly everyday “matters” as bread baking are exalted and poeticized. Nancy Keesing writes in her poem "Bread":

The oldest food

I cook skillfully.

She takes in life

Warms like a body.

Her tight flesh

I get in the way with my fists

And the dough is made with yeast

It swells under your hands.

The concept of “man” is warmed by symbolism - Grain, leaven, bread And fruit somewhere under the heart.

Probably, these words could be repeated by McCullough’s heroine Fiona, who calmly, with her inherent dignity and pride, bears the difficult burden of being a mother and housewife in a huge house.

The main business that the men in the Cleary family are engaged in is sheep farming. The writer includes in her narrative “layers” of special information relating to raising sheep, shearing them, caring for them, herding, and meat production. All this is given in vivid, fascinating detail in its own way and represents an undoubted cognitive interest. The reader learns how much hard work goes into obtaining that famous wool for which Australia is famous. Haircut time is especially difficult. And although many seemingly special technological details are introduced into the text of the novel, these pages are read with unflagging interest. Meanwhile, the history of literature also knows many examples of so-called “industrial novels”, for example by Pierre Amp, schematic and colorless, in which a person dissolves in dense descriptions of machine-technical texture.

Does this mean that the main thing in people’s lives - their work - is not amenable to artistic and aesthetic development? Of course not. And above all, because in significant, significant works of art the image of the labor process does not exist on its own, as some foreign body, but is organically associated with the depiction of human individuality, with its socio-psychological characteristics. That's why generations of readers watch with unceasing attention as Robinson Crusoe works on a potter's wheel, makes a boat, tames domestic ANIMALS, and builds a hut!

Colleen McCullough's characters love their work. They give themselves to him with some kind of greed and self-forgetfulness. Frank works enthusiastically in the forge. Little Maggie watches in awe as he cuts down huge eucalyptus trees. Her brothers, who live in Drogheda, are so attached to the land, to their work, that they sacrificed their family life for this. A masterful description of cane cutting in Queensland.

And if this work causes physical fatigue, then it is rewarded with joy and satisfaction. McCullough poetizes the work of people in the lap of nature, not associated with large machine, conveyor production; after all, under the conditions of capitalism, the individuality of the worker is leveled, dehumanized, loses its human essence and turns into a kind of impersonal appendage of a ruthlessly functioning “system”.

“The Thorn Birds” is a multifaceted work; it confirms the well-known truth that the work of a serious writer is nourished by the life-giving juices of reality. Colin McCullough is most original where he artistically testifies to the nature, labor, and way of life of his homeland, and introduces characters bearing nationally specific traits. On the contrary, moving to the European stage, it somehow loses its inherent freshness...

That is why perhaps the most important image, dominating everything, is the image of Drogheda. It carries the lyrical theme of the novel, the theme of “home”, “origins”, “roots”. The main characters of the work are associated with Drogheda. Its endless expanses are the embodiment of the homeland, native land, the most dear beginnings for a person. Here heroes are born, live, die, and find their last peace in a quiet cemetery. Even the parched, drought-torn land of Drogheda is full of “indescribable charm” for the Cleary brothers; the sight of sheep serves as a consolation, and the smell of late roses in the garden seems like “heavenly bliss.” Not without a sense of elegiac sadness, the finale speaks of Drogheda, the last of the largest landholdings in New South Wales; along with it, the old patriarchal Australia, the world of spontaneous, artless and deep feelings, should become a thing of the past...

Story foreign literature, and especially American, knows many examples of “writers of one book”: the author, who happily debuted with his first work, which absorbed all his life experience, is subjected to the most difficult test - success, fame - and in the future often cannot maintain himself at the level of his first achievement.

Her novel “Indiscreet Hobby” (1981), based on American material, turned out to be unsuccessful. McCullough then co-authored a cookery book with Jean Easthope. In 1985, her novel “Creed for the Third Millennium” was published - an undoubtedly interesting work, in which the writer tries her hand at a new utopian genre. The novel takes place in the 21st century, main character- provincial psychiatrist Joshua Christian, a man of great spiritual generosity, filled with a sense of compassion for his compatriots, decides to cure the “millennium neurosis”, the fear of what is threatening as a result of overpopulation of the planet and exhaustion natural resources"Ice Age" Under the influence of his follower Judith Kerriol, a businesswoman, energetic and ambitious, Christian writes a book that is a huge success. With it, he strives to help overcome neurosis, to instill in people faith in themselves, their strength, feeling self-esteem. Standing at the head of a mass procession heading to Washington, he deliberately nails himself to the cross, wanting to serve the moral renewal of society at the cost of self-sacrifice. Although the writer here was unable to avoid the poster-symbolic convention of images, this novel is animated by humanistic ideas. There is no doubt, however, that after The Thorn Birds McCullough is in a difficult creative search for new themes and new artistic approaches. Let's hope that Colin McCullough will build on the success of The Thorn Birds in his new writings.

Australia has produced a galaxy of highly talented women writers, prose writers and poets: Ethel Florence Richardson, Miles Franklin, Katharina Susanna Pritchard, Dymphna Cusack, Mary Gilmore. I would like to believe that the name Colleen McCullough will have an undeniable place on this list.

Updated: 2011-03-13

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Useful material on the topic

Name

There is a legend about a bird that sings only once in its entire life, but is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and will not rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches she begins to sing a song and throws herself on the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the unspeakable torment, he sings so, dying, that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this jubilant song. The only, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world stands still, listening, and God himself smiles in heaven. For all the best is bought only at the price of great suffering... At least that’s what the legend says.

Plot

The story begins in 1915 and spans half a century. The book is divided into seven parts, each of which reveals the character of one of the main characters. The plot centers on the life of the Cleary family, who have made their way from the New Zealand poor to the managers of one of the largest Australian estates, Drogheda.

Part 1. 1915-1917 Maggie

The book begins with the birthday of the youngest daughter, Maggie, who turns four. The life of a large family is described, the hard daily work of the mother of the family, Fiona, the difficulties of teaching children in a Catholic school under the command of stern nuns, the dissatisfaction of the eldest son Frank with poverty and the monotony of life. One day, Padrik Cleary (Paddy) receives a letter from his sister Mary Carson, the wealthy owner of the vast Australian estate of Drogheda. She invites him to the position of senior shepherd, and the whole family moves from New Zealand to Australia.

Part 2. 1918-1928 Ralph

In Australia, the Cleary family is met by the young parish priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ten-year-old Maggie, the only daughter in the family, attracts his attention with her beauty and shyness. As she gets older, Maggie falls in love with him, but they are not destined to be together, since Ralph, like any Catholic priest, took a vow of chastity (celibacy). Nevertheless, they spend a lot of time together, ride horses, talk. Mary Carson, the widow of the “steel king” Michael Carson, is unrequitedly in love with Ralph and watches his relationship with Maggie with poorly concealed hatred. Feeling that Ralph is close to giving up his dignity for the sake of the matured Maggie, Mary sets a trap for Ralph at the cost of her life: after the death of Mary Carson, her huge inheritance goes to the church, provided that the latter appreciates its humble minister Ralph de Bricassart, who becomes the sole manager of the Carson estate, and the Cleary family receives the right to live in Drogheda as managers. Now, when the possibility of a church career opens up before Ralph again, he refuses to connect his life with Maggie and leaves Drogheda. Maggie misses him. Ralph also thinks about her, but is overcome by the desire to return to Drogheda.

Part 3. 1929-1932 Paddy

During a huge fire, Maggie's father Paddy and brother Stuart die. By pure chance, on the day their bodies are transported to the estate, Ralph arrives in Drogheda. Maggie, who has temporarily forgotten her longing for her family, manages to get a kiss from him, but immediately after the funeral, Ralph leaves again. Maggie gives him a rose - the only one that survived the fire, and Ralph hides it in his pocket breviary.

Part 4. 1933-1938 Luke

Maggie continues to miss Ralph. Meanwhile, a new worker appears at the estate, Luke O'Neill, who begins to care for Maggie. Outwardly, he looks like Ralph, and Maggie first accepts his invitations to dances and then marries him. After the wedding, it turns out that Luke found himself a job as a cane cutter, and Maggie got a job as a maid in the couple's house. Maggie dreams of a child and her own home, but Luke prefers to work and save money, promising her a full-fledged family life in a couple of years. They do not see each other for months, but Maggie, using cunning, gives birth to his daughter Justina. After a difficult birth, she is ill for a long time and the owners of the house where she serves as a maid give her a trip to Matlock Island. After her departure, Luke arrives and the owner offers to visit Maggie, but Luke refuses and leaves. After this, Ralph arrives, and he is also advised to go to Maggie, posing as Luke. Ralph hesitates, but goes to Maggie. Unable to resist their attraction to each other, they spend a few days as husband and wife, after which Ralph returns to Rome to pursue his career and become a cardinal. Maggie leaves Luke and returns to Drogheda, carrying Ralph's child under her heart.

Part 5. 1938-1953 Fia

Meanwhile, World War II begins in Europe. Maggie's two brothers go to the front. Ralph, already a cardinal, finds it difficult to accept the Vatican's flexibility towards the Mussolini regime. In Drogheda, Maggie gives birth to a son, Dan, a copy of Ralph, but no one doubts that his father is Luke, since the men are very similar. Only Maggie's mother, Fiona (Fia), guesses. In a conversation with Maggie, it turns out that in her youth Fiona was also passionately in love with one influential person, who could not marry her. She had a son with him, Frank, and her father gave Padrick Cleary money to marry her. Both Fiona and Maggie loved a man who could not reciprocate their feelings: Fiona's lover was concerned about his career, Ralph was devoted to the church. Maggie laughs and says that she was smarter and made sure that Dan had a name and no one would doubt his legitimate origin. Ralph arrives in Drogheda, meets Dan, but does not realize that this is his son. Maggie doesn't tell him anything.

Part 6. 1954-1965 Dan

Maggie's children, having matured, choose their own professions. Justina is going to become an actress and leaves for London. Dan wants to become a priest. Maggie is furious: she hoped that Dan would have children, and so she would “steal” Ralph from the church. But Dan stands firm, and she sends him to Rome, to Ralph. Dan is pursuing seminary training and ordination. After the ceremony, he leaves for Crete to rest, where he has a heart attack on the water. Dan is dying. Maggie comes to Ralph to ask for help in negotiations with the Greek authorities and reveals to him that Dan is his son. Ralph helps her transport Dan's body to Drogheda, performs the last rites on him and dies after the funeral, admitting to himself that he had sacrificed too much for the sake of his ambitions.

Part 7. 1965-1969 Justina

After Dan's death, Justina finds no place for herself and seeks peace in work. She considers herself guilty of Dan's death: Justina initially wanted to go to Crete with Dan, but in the end she did not go there because she wanted to spend time with her German friend Lion Hartheim, with whom she was in love. The girl believes that if she had been with her brother, the misfortune would not have happened. She is either trying to return to Drogheda or trying to improve relations with Lyon. Lyon loves Justina and wants to marry her, but she is afraid of becoming attached to him and becoming vulnerable to pain and anxiety. In addition, by not responding to Lyon’s feelings, she is thus trying to atone for Dan. She ends up marrying him. Maggie in Drogheda receives a telegram from her announcing her marriage. The estate has no future - her brothers did not marry and are childless, Dan died, and Justina does not want to hear about children.

Characters

• Megan "Maggie" Cleary- the central character, the only daughter among a large circle of sons. In the novel she is present with early childhood(4 years) to old age (58 years).
• Father Ralph Raoul de Bricassart- Maggie's true love, a handsome Irish Catholic priest.
• Padrick "Paddy" Cleary- Maggie’s father, a kind of simple working Irishman; died in a fire in Drogheda.
• Fiona "Fia" Armstrong Cleary- Paddy's wife and Maggie's mother, a woman of aristocratic blood who is deeply unhappy, but skillfully hides it.
• Francis "Frank" Armstrong Cleary- Maggie's older brother, Fiona's illegitimate first son. Maggie was his favorite; served 30 years in prison for murder.
• Mary Elizabeth Cleary Carson- Padrika's very rich older sister; widow, benefactor of Ralph's father, owner of Drogheda.
• Luke O'Neill- Maggie's husband during an unhappy three-year marriage; Justina's father.
• Dan O'Neill- Maggie and Ralph's son, Maggie's pride and joy, followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a priest. Died of a broken heart while saving drowning bathers in Greece at the age of twenty-six.
• Justina O'Neil- daughter of Maggie and Luke, a smart, independent girl. After all, she is Paddy Cleary's only surviving granddaughter.
• Ludwig and Anne Müller- Maggie's employers during her marriage to Luke. They become friends for life.
• Bob, Jack and Hughie Cleary- Maggie's older brothers. They all resemble Paddy and live out their days unmarried in Drogheda.
• Stuart "Stu" Cleary- a calm, friendly boy who resembles his mother and is closest to Maggie in age. He received the nickname "little saint". Died in Australia due to a boar that killed him.
• Harold "Hal" Cleary- Maggie's cherished little brother. He dies at four years old from croup.
• James and Patrick "Jims and Patsy" Cleary- twin boys, Maggie's youngest brothers. Participated in the Second World War. Patsy (Patrick) was injured, which left him unable to have children.
• Lyon "Rain" Mörling Hartheim- Ralph's friend. German. Member of the West German Parliament and eventual husband of Justina.
• Archbishop (later cardinal) Vittorio di Contini Vercese- Ralph's mentor, Lyon's friend.

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Excerpt describing the Thorn Birds

To my surprise, when I got there, I couldn’t even go inside - the store was packed with people. Apparently they brought something new and no one wanted to make a mistake by being left without something new... So I stood in a long line, stubbornly not intending to leave and patiently waited until I finally received my favorite gingerbread cookies. We moved very slowly, because the room was packed to capacity (and it was about 5x5 m in size) and because of the huge “aunts and uncles” I couldn’t see anything. Suddenly, having taken the next step, with a wild scream, I flew head over heels down the rough wooden stairs and plopped down on the same rough wooden boxes...
It turns out that the owner, either in a hurry to sell a new product, or simply forgetting, left the lid of his (seven-meter deep!) basement open, into which I managed to fall. I apparently hit myself quite hard, because I didn’t remember at all how and who pulled me out of there. There were very frightened faces of people and the owner around me, endlessly asking if I was okay. Of course, I was hardly okay, but for some reason I didn’t want to admit it and I said that I would go home. A whole crowd accompanied me... The poor grandmother almost had a stroke when she suddenly saw this whole stunning “procession” leading me home...
I lay in bed for ten days. And, as it turned out later, it was considered simply incredible that I managed to get away with just one scratch after such a stunning “flight” upside down to a seven-meter depth... For some reason, the owner Schreiber came to us every day, brought a kilogram of sweets and kept asking questions. , am I really feeling well... To be honest, he looked quite scared.
Be that as it may, I think that someone definitely laid out a “pillow” for me... Someone who thought that it was too early for me to break up then. There were a lot of such “strange” cases in my then very short life. Some happened and then very quickly disappeared into oblivion, while others were remembered for some reason, although they were not necessarily the most interesting. So, for some reason unknown to me, I remembered very well the incident with the lighting of the fire.

All the neighborhood kids (including me) loved to light bonfires. And especially when we were allowed to fry potatoes in them!.. It was one of our most favorite delicacies, and we generally considered such a fire almost a real holiday! And how could anything else compare with the scorching, stunningly smelling, ash-strewn potatoes freshly fished out of a burning fire with sticks?! We had to try very hard, wanting to remain serious, seeing our waiting, intensely concentrated faces! We sat around the fire, like hungry Robinson Crusoe who had not eaten for a month. And at that moment it seemed to us that nothing could be tastier in this world than that small, smoking ball slowly baking in our fire!
It was on one of these festive “potato-baking” evenings that another “incredible” adventure happened to me. It was quiet and warm summer evening, it was already starting to get a little dark. We gathered in someone’s “potato” field, found a suitable place, gathered a sufficient number of branches and were ready to light a fire, when someone noticed that we had forgotten the most important thing - matches. The disappointment knew no bounds... No one wanted to follow them, because we had gone quite far from home. We tried to light it the old-fashioned way - rubbing wood against wood - but very soon even the most stubborn ones ran out of patience. And then suddenly one says:
- Well, we forgot that we have our “witch” here with us! Well, come on, light it up...
They often called me “Witch,” and on their part it was more of an affectionate nickname than an offensive one. So I wasn’t offended, but, to be honest, I was very confused. To my great regret, I never lit a fire and somehow it never occurred to me to do this... But this was almost the first time they asked me for something and I, of course, was not going to miss this case, and even more so, “to lose face in the dirt.”
I didn’t have the slightest idea what to do to make it “light”... I just focused on the fire and really wanted it to happen. A minute passed, then another, but nothing happened... The boys (and they are always and everywhere a little angry) began to laugh at me, saying that I could only “guess” when I needed it... I felt very offended - because I honestly tried my best. But of course, no one was interested in this. They needed results, but I didn’t have any results...
To be honest, I still don’t know what happened then. Maybe I just felt very indignant that they laughed at me so undeservedly? Or did a bitter childhood resentment stir up too powerfully? One way or another, I suddenly felt like my whole body was frozen (it would seem that it should have been the other way around?) and only inside my hands, real “fire” was pulsating with explosive shocks... I stood facing the fire and sharply threw left hand forward... A terrible roaring flame seemed to splash out of my hand straight into the fire the boys had built. Everyone screamed wildly... and I woke up at home, with very strong cutting pain in my arms, back and head. My whole body was burning, as if I was lying on a hot brazier. I didn’t want to move or even open my eyes.
Mom was horrified by my “antics” and accused me of “all worldly sins,” and most importantly, of not keeping my word given to her, which for me was worse than any all-consuming physical pain. I was very sad that this time she did not want to understand me and at the same time I felt unprecedented pride that I still “didn’t lose face in the dirt” and that I somehow managed to do what I wanted expected.
Of course, all this now seems a little funny and childishly naive, but then it was very important for me to prove that I could possibly be useful to someone in some way with all my, as they called it, “things.” And that these are not my crazy inventions, but the real reality, which they will now have to take into account at least a little. If only everything could be so childishly simple...

As it turned out, not only my mother was horrified by what I had done. Neighboring mothers, having heard from their children about what had happened, began to demand that they stay as far away from me as possible... And this time I was truly left almost completely alone. But since I was a very, very proud person, I was never going to “ask” to be someone’s friend. But it’s one thing to show, and quite another to live with it.....
I really loved my friends, my street and everyone who lived on it. And I always tried to bring everyone at least some joy and some good. And now I was alone and only myself was to blame for this, because I could not resist the simplest, harmless childish provocation. But what could I do if I myself was still just a child at that time? True, as a child, who has now begun to understand little by little that not everyone in this world is worthy of having to prove something... And even if you prove it, it still does not mean at all that the one to whom you are you prove, you will always be understood correctly.
After a few days, I completely “moved away” physically and felt quite tolerable. But I never had the desire to light a fire again. But, unfortunately, I had to pay for my “experiment” for quite a long time... At first I was completely isolated from all my favorite games and friends. It was very offensive and seemed very unfair. When I told my mother about this, my poor kind mother did not know what to say. She loved me very much and, naturally, wanted to protect me from any troubles and insults. But, on the other hand, she was also starting to feel a little scared because of what was almost constantly happening to me.
This, unfortunately, was that “dark” time when it was still “not customary” to speak openly about such “strange” and unusual things. Everything was very strictly kept within the framework of how it “should” or “shouldn’t” be. And everything “inexplicable” or “extraordinary” was categorically kept silent or considered abnormal. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart I envy those gifted children who were born at least twenty years later than me, when all these “extraordinary” abilities were no longer considered some kind of curse, but on the contrary, it began to be called a GIFT. And today no one poisons or sends these poor “unusual” children to a mental hospital, but they are valued and respected as amazing children gifted with a special talent.
My “talents” at that time, unfortunately, did not evoke such admiration among anyone around me. Once, a few days after my “scandalous” adventure with fire, one of our neighbors “confidently” told my mother that she has a “very good doctor” who deals with exactly the same “problems” as mine and if my mother wants, then she will be happy to introduce her to him. This was the first time my mother was directly “advised” to put me in an insane asylum.
Then there was a lot of this “advice”, but I remember that it was then that my mother was very upset and cried for a long time, locking herself in her room. She never told me about this incident, but a neighbor boy “initiated” me into this secret, whose mother gave my mother such precious advice. Of course, they didn’t take me to any doctor, thank God. But I felt that with my last “actions” I had crossed some kind of “line”, after which even my mother was no longer able to understand me. And there was no one who could help me, explain or simply reassure me in a friendly way. I'm not even saying - to teach...
So I “floundered” alone in my guesses and mistakes, without anyone’s support or understanding. I tried some things, I didn’t dare to do others. Some things worked out, some things worked out the other way around. And how often have I felt simply humanly afraid! To be honest, I was also still “floundering in guesses” even until I was 33 years old, because I never found anyone who could at least explain anything. Although there were always more “willing” people than needed.

The book was first published in 1977. A poignant family saga about eternal love received a large number of positive feedback and recognition throughout the world. A feature film of the same name was made based on the work, which added to the popularity of the novel.

The novel was written by Australian writer Colleen McCullough. In it, she created romantic images emotionally, convincingly and subtly. Readers will draw from the book interesting thoughts about fidelity, love, friendship, relationships between children and parents. The book will be loved and read at all times.

The plot centers on the life story of the Australian Cleary family. By coincidence, the men in their family die one after another, and those who remain alive cannot continue the family line.. Gradually their species is dying out. Due to the dramatic episodes in their lives, the women of this family became real stoics.

They were distinguished by self-control and restraint of their feelings. The main character Maggie grew up in a difficult mental environment. Her childhood was not characterized by carefree and happiness; she matured early. The girl learned to deeply hide her feelings.

Maggie wasn't friends with anyone. Due to her secretive, freedom-loving nature, she was not liked at school. The only one who understood her was brother Frank, and even he, having left his father’s house, went to prison. She could only have a heart-to-heart talk with the priest Ralph de Bricassart.

He also did not hide his sympathy for her. The girl grew up before his eyes, turning into an attractive person. It is not surprising that Maggie, not seeing responses from other men, fell in love with Ralph. The reverend also had far from paternal feelings for her. Ralph was attracted to the girl.

The Cleary family was not particularly religious. Their relationship with God was limited to observing rituals, and that’s all. Maggie didn’t understand why the priest couldn’t love her and in her heart she even rebelled against church customs. In her opinion, the church took away from her the happiness of being married to her beloved.

The writer created an ambiguous image of Ralph. On the one hand, the priest is ambitious, wants to become a bishop, is cunning, sometimes cruel and arrogant. On the other hand, it has many positive qualities. Ralph finds happiness in serving God, helps ordinary people, and is honest with himself.

He tries with all his might to suppress his attraction to Maggie. In the novel, in addition to the relationship between Maggie and Ralph, many stories are told about other characters: Paddy, Luke, Fia, Dan, Justin. They are all looking for happiness, but it does not want to fall into their hands, but, like a bird, flies away.

For ease of reading, McCullough divided the book into seven parts, each of which tells the sad story of these heroes . Thus, the main character Maggie is forced to marry Luke O’Neill, whom she does not love. From the first lines of reading the novel, it becomes clear to readers that Ralph and Maggie are made for each other, so you clearly feel how unhappy the woman is in her marriage.

Will they ever get back together? You will learn about this by reading Colleen McCullough’s book “The Thorn Birds” in its entirety. You can do this on our website.

Criticism

1. The work leaves a lasting impression. Using the example of several generations of the Cleary family, the author described the life of Australians and the problems they face.
2. The book excites and intrigues with its twisted plot, forcing readers to also think about their lives, because often we also hide our feelings and emotions and this affects our future fate.

Read a book - a classic of world literature! You will definitely enjoy the exciting love story of the heroes and the realities of life of other characters.