November Books 2) The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough

[nwhyte]

Back in the mid-1980s, as a regular train passenger between Belfast and Dublin, I used to cringe at the sound of American tourists pronouncing "Drogheda". This was entirely the fault of the mini-series based on The Thorn Birds, starring Richard Chamberlain as the dashing Father Ralph, and set on an Australian sheep station named after (but

Comments

[rparvaaz]

I never could finish that book...it just didn't grab me. I much prefer her Rome series, which really did grab me.

I have long suspected that its popularity was in a large part due to the thrill of the forbidden.

[nwhyte]

Yes, and given what we now know Catholic priests have been up to, shagging a twenty-something married woman seems rather tame in comparison...

[rparvaaz]

*g*

The world ain't what it used to be...

[surliminal]

I think it was just people who saw it on TV buying it - the guy playing the priest WAS gorgeous..

[brightglance]

As well as the usual neutral Irish pronunciation (Dro-hed-ah, with first vowel as in "drop") there's also the local pronunciation which sounds like Dhraaww-dah. The Ardee accent is even thicker; whenever I drive through there it amazes me that this utterly prosaic market town, essentially seen as ultimate hicksville by the rest of us, is actually Áth Fhirdia, named after one of the most poignant episodes of legend.

[pocketnaomi]

Her Rome books are a lot better, IMO.