more photos (5)

Colleen McCullough’s Followers (2,562)

Colleen McCullough

Born

in Wellington, New South Wales, Australia

June 01, 1937

Died

January 29, 2015

Genre

Historical Fiction, Romance, Memoir

edit data

Colleen Margaretta McCullough was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being The Thorn Birds and Tim.

Raised by her mother in Wellington and then Sydney, McCullough began writing stories at age 5. She flourished at Catholic schools and earned a physiology degree from the University of New South Wales in 1963. Planning become a doctor, she found that she had a violent allergy to hospital soap and turned instead to neurophysiology – the study of the nervous system's functions. She found jobs first in London and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

After her beloved younger brother Carl died in 1965 at age 25 while rescuing two drowning women in the waters off Crete, a shattered McCullough quit writing. S ...more

Combine Editions
Colleen McCullough’s books

Average rating: 4.19 · 460,630 ratings · 14,994 reviews · 156 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Thorn Birds 4.24 avg rating — 344,326 ratings — published 1977 — 393 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1) 4.12 avg rating — 22,478 ratings — published 1990 — 105 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Grass Crown (Masters of Rome, #2) 4.33 avg rating — 12,141 ratings — published 1990 — 101 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fortune's Favorites (Masters of Rome, #3) 4.38 avg rating — 8,112 ratings — published 1993 — 80 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Caesar (Masters of Rome, #5) 4.39 avg rating — 7,748 ratings — published 1997 — 70 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Caesar's Women (Masters of Rome, #4) 4.28 avg rating — 7,091 ratings — published 1996 — 74 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The October Horse (Masters of Rome #6) 4.32 avg rating — 6,034 ratings — published 2002 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bittersweet 3.48 avg rating — 7,455 ratings — published 2013 — 66 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Antony and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome, #7) 4.03 avg rating — 5,744 ratings — published 2007 — 79 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Touch 4.01 avg rating — 5,337 ratings — published 2003 — 92 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Colleen McCullough…

Series by Colleen McCullough

Masters of Rome (7 books)
by

Colleen McCullough

4.24 avg rating — 69,345 ratings

Gospodari Rima (17 books)
by

Colleen McCullough

4.21 avg rating — 48,693 ratings

Carmine Delmonico (5 books)
by

Colleen McCullough

3.47 avg rating — 5,001 ratings

Quotes by Colleen McCullough (?)

“Never forget, Caelius, that a great man makes his luck. Luck is there for everyone to seize. Most of us miss our chances; we're blind to our luck. He never misses a chance because he's never blind to the opportunity of the moment.”
― Colleen McCullough, Caesar

1169 likes

“There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. And, dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale. One superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain… Or so says the legend.”
― Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds

tags: inspirational, legend

636 likes

“There are no ambitions noble enough to justify breaking someone's heart. ”
― Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds

334 likes

See all Colleen McCullough's quotes »

Polls

What author's writing most resembles Margaret Mitchell's?

Pat Conroy

1 vote, 33.3%

Flannery O'Connor

1 vote, 33.3%

Colleen McCullough

1 vote, 33.3%

Alexandra Ripley

0 votes, 0.0%

Leila Meacham

0 votes, 0.0%

Louise Shivers

0 votes, 0.0%

William Styron

0 votes, 0.0%

William Faulkner

0 votes, 0.0%

Kathryn Stockett

0 votes, 0.0%

Barbara Bradford Taylor

0 votes, 0.0%

3 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Our History: Historical Fiction Advice	15	125	Apr 23, 2009 08:51AM
The Next Best Boo...: Men vs. Women	228	1010	May 27, 2009 10:15PM
Goodreads Librari...: Translation and Combining help	188	668	Jul 21, 2009 01:45PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Older woman (stroke victim) loved by younger man [s]	5	61	Oct 11, 2009 06:35PM
The Seasonal Read...: WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS	69	156	Nov 28, 2009 08:41PM

More…