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In a story of breathtaking scope, Colleen McCullough returns to the magnificent setting of her international bestseller The Thorn Birds.
Following the disappearance of his only son and the death of his beloved wife, Richard Morgan is falsely imprisoned and exiled to the penal colonies of eighteenth-century Australia. His life is shattered but Morgan refuses to surrender, overcoming all obstacles to find unexpected contentment and happiness in the harsh early days of Australia’s settlement.
From England’s shores to Botany Bay and the rugged frontier of a hostile new world, Morgan’s Run is the epic tale of love lost and found, and the man whose strength and character helped settle a country and define its future.
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I fell in love with The Thornbirds as a young girl, and I’ve always wanted to read Morgan’s Run. I love reading about Australia. Can’t wait to tackle it out of my TBR pile. CM also has an Ancient Rome series from years ago that is supposed to be very good.
This book is loooong, not gonna lie! I’m about 1/2 way through after knocking a bunch out on vacation. I am enjoying it so far. CM is very easy to read. And I’m enjoying Richard as the main character/hero.
A few cool observations (not spoilers)…
Apparently, Helen Reddy is a descendant of the real Richard Morgan. Which I think is super cool. Helen Reddy was the 60s & 70s singer of “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar” fame. And she played “Nora” in the old Pete’s Dragon movie, which I always loved her songs in that movie.
Also, not sure if you all have ever read “Mutiny on the Bounty.” It’s an old adventure story based on the real-life mutiny in the late 1700s, where Fletcher Christian and some crew members mutinied and took over a ship near Tahiti captained by the horrible Captain Bligh. Anyway, the mutineers returned to Tahiti to get the Tahitian women they “married” and then settled on a remote island called “Pitcairn’s Island.” They lived there until in the 1800s, there was an attempt to “re-settle” them on Norfolk Island. Which plays into this book somewhat.
Very interesting how things come full-circle! I love when history connects to itself!
Yeah, I think many of the printings are out-of-print. Just a guess, but it might be that they were printed in Australia, and aren’t as readily available in the U.S. The book is fat, so I’ve been toying with the idea of just getting the e-version so I don’t have to lug it around anymore.
Done! Proud of myself for finishing in about 3 weeks. I thought it would take me much longer.
I really liked the book a lot. Glad I finally read it & knocked it off my TBR pile. It is a huge book! I really did get sick of holding the darn thing while reading it. An e-version would have served much better, but I like having the actual book in my library, so oh well.
If you don’t like big-ass, historical fiction novels, this is not the book for you. I am partial to really huge books with historical themes, so I had a feeling I would enjoy this book. I also really like Colleen McCullough, who I find very easy to read. Her research is great. I find that she blends the research with the fiction quite well. I often lean towards British history, but also enjoy reading about Australian history.
The book really was a love-letter to Richard Morgan. At times, it seemed like I was reading a diary of his day-to-day life. I enjoyed all of the details of his life before, during and after transport. I felt super-sad when William Henry died, and I feel like I never really recovered from that. It just bothered me the entire book. I rooted for Richard the entire time though, and he as an easy protagonist to like. I wasn’t a big fan of Kitty when she came into Richard’s life toward the end. She was pretty darn boring. But it was like, okay, Richard is happy so I am happy 🙂
My favorite relationship in the novel was that of Richard and Stephen. Loved their friendship! OMG, they reminded me so much of Jamie and Lord John from Outlander. CM does what Diana G. so often fails to do, and that is stop being so damn pedantic and just tell the story. Thus, I felt like the friendship of Richard and Stephen flowed very well.
There are several other CM I would like to read eventually, but maybe the e-version haha!
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