Colleen McCullough

Meggie Cleary is the main character of The Thorn Birds, a 1977 best selling novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. The book was turned into a 1983 television mini-series starring Rachel Ward as Meggie. Meghann Cleary is the only daughter of Padraic, a ruddy country gentleman with tremendous... gusto and a gift for energetic doggerel and Fiona Cleary. She is depicted as a very pretty tomboy at the start of the story who grows up into a mature and beautiful young woman. She is shown to have her father's red hair and her mother's looks, which are equally as handsome as that of her mother's as she grows up. Like her parents and siblings however, she is a proud and hardworking person with a lot of determination, iron will and a loving and affectionate heart. At the start of the book, Meggie is first seen, at the time, the youngest of her family during their years at New Zea land. Like her brothers, she adhered to the strict rules of her firm but loving father while was never given any sign of love from her busy mother apart from acts like giving Meggie a doll on her fourth birthday.
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