McCullough, who, forsaking her scientific career, would write more than 20, though none sold nearly as well. “The Thorn Birds” was only the second novel by Ms. First broadcast in 1983 on ABC, “The Thorn Birds,” which also starred Christopher Plummer, Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Simmons, is among the most-watched mini-series of all time. The book was the basis of a 10-hour television production starring Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph and Rachel Ward as Meggie. In hardcover, it spent more than a year on the New York Times best-seller list the paperback rights were sold at auction for $1.9 million, a record at the time. “The Thorn Birds,” which has never been out of print, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 20 languages.
Published in 1977 by Harper & Row, “The Thorn Birds” is set against the sweeping panorama of the author’s native land and was described often in the American news media as an Australian “Gone With the Wind.” Spanning much of the 20th century, it centers on Meggie, the beautiful wife of a loutish rancher, and her illicit affair with Father Ralph, a handsome Roman Catholic priest. McCullough had been in declining health with a variety of ailments in recent years.
The cause was believed to have been kidney failure, her agent, Michael V.
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