Bøger af Colleen McCullough

It is also home to Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by powerty, a shameless pleasure seeker. Two men of extraordinary vision, men of ruthless ambition, both blessed and cursed by the special favour of Fortune.

En gribende og storslået beretning om den usædvanlige familie Cleary.Historien begynder tidligt i dette århundrede, da Paddy Cleary med sin kone Fiona og deres syv børn flytter til Drogheda, et stort australsk landsted. Den ender mere end 50 år senere, da den eneste tilbageblevne af tredje generation – den kønne skuespillerinde Justine O'Neil – strejfer om i verden langt borte fra Drogheda for at lede efter det "virkelige liv" og den "sande kærlighed".Bogens egentlige hovedperson er dog den utæmmelige Meggie, Paddy og Fiona Clarys datter, der ikke viger fra Drogheda, og som holder fast ved sin store kærlighed: Den flotte og ærgerrige præst Ralph de Bricassart - et forhold som den katolske kirke truer med at ødelægge.  Tornfuglene er filmatiseret med Richard Chamberlain i rollen som Ralph de Bricassart.

The third novel in the epic Masters of Rome series. Fortune's Favourites witnesses the power, mastery and cunning of two enigmatic rulers of Rome - Sulla, returning from exile, and the 22-year-old Pompey, who designates himself Magnus 'the Great'.

Passion, politics, love and death combine in a novel of the legendary love triangle between the three leaders of the Roman era: Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Octavian, from the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds.Mark Antony, famous warrior and legendary lover, expected that he would be Julius Caesar's successor. But after Caesar's murder it was his 18-year old nephew, Octavian, who was named in the will. No-one, least of all Antony, expected him to last but his youth and slight frame concealed a remarkable determination and a clear strategic sense.Antony was the leader of the fabulously rich East. Barely into his campaigning, he met Cleopatra, Pharaoh of Egypt. Bereft by the loss of Julius Caesar, her lover, father of her only son, she saw Antony as another Roman who could support her and provide more heirs. His fascination for her, his sense that she knew the way forward where he had lost his, led to the beginning of their passionate, and very public affair. The two men, twin rulers of Rome, might have found a way to live with each other but not with Cleopatra between them.This is a truly epic story of power and scandal, battle and passion, political spin and inexorable fate with a rich historical background and a remarkable cast of characters, all brought brilliantly to life by Colleen McCullough. It is hard to leave the world she has created.

The sixth book in the epic Masters of Rome seriesJulius Caesar is in the prime of his life and at the height of his powers. But Caesar is a man whose very greatness attracts envy and jealousy to a dangerous degree, and as the political intrigues which surround him reach their climax, his destruction becomes inevitable.

In her riveting sequel to "On, Off," featuring Carmine Delmonico, the bestselling author of "The Thorn Birds" proves once again that she is a master of suspense.

Sangen om Troja handler om den tragiske krig mellem grækerne og trojanerne, som brød ud, da kong Menelaos’ skønne hustru, Helene, bukkede under for sine lidenskaber og stak af med den trojanske prins Paris. Kapitel for kapitel møder læseren hovedpersonerne i det langvarige drama og hører om begivenhederne fra deres egen mund: Helten Odysseus, som kun nødigt lod sig involvere, Achilleus, den udødelige, med det ene svage punkt, hælen, og kong Agamemnon, hans frygtindgydende kone Klytaimestra og elskerinden, spåkvinden Kassandra. Og på den trojanske side Hektor og Ajax og mange flere.Sangen om Troja, baseret på Homers „Iliaden“, er historien om en langvarig belejring, om krig og kærlighed, om menneskers dårskab og gudernes hævn.

Den midaldrende Mary Horton er godt tilfreds med sin komfortable, men ensomme tilværelse - lige indtil hun møder Tim. En billedskøn, ung mand, der mentalt er udviklet som et barn. De to udvikler et varmt venskab. Tim rusker op i Marys respektable, velordnede liv med det forbudte løfte om en ganske særlig kærlighed. "Tim er en af de smukkeste bøger, jeg nogen sinde har læst. Det er sjældent, man læser en bog, der viser forståelse for hver eneste person, lige fra hovedpersonen til birollerne, fordi hver især respekteres… Det er vanskeligt at fortælle om Mary Horton og Tim, da jeg med mine ord ikke ønsker at ødelægge nogen af de effekter, som Colleen McCullough har skabt. Hun og han vil komme til at indtage deres pladser i litteraturen og kan måske endog blive en del af sproget."Robert D. Hale, General ManagerHathaway House BookshopWellesley, Massachusetts

Caesars Kvinder er fjerde bind i serien Den romerske Familie, hvoraf der tidligere er udkommet Ærens Vej, Græskronen og Fortunas Udvalgte.I Fortunas Udvalgte blev banen kridtet op for magtkampen mellem den unge fremstormende Caesar og den ganske usœdvanlig selvbevidste og ambitiøse kamphane, Pompeius der, da ingen andre ville, gav sig selv tilnavnet Magnus, den Store. Tidsmœssigt befinder vi os nu o. 68-58 f.Kr.At det antikke republikkens Rom overhovedet formåede at danne skole for det vestlige demokrati er egentlig helt ufatteligt. Korruption, magtmisbrug, kupforsøg m.m. var det der kendetegnede samfundet dengang, og politiske rœvekager blev bagt heie tiden. Det koger og syder i Rom!Men Caesars Kvinder handler, som titlen antyder, i meget høj grad om de kvinder der omgav Caesar, både hans elskerinder, for han havde jo ry for at vœre en kvindebedårer af usœdvanlig karat (det var en af hans helt store fornøjelser at sœtte horn i panden på sine politiske modstandere), og kvinderne i hans familie, isœr den stœrke og kloge mor, Aurelia, og hans elskede datter Julia som han har lovet bort til en mand, der absolut ikke er efter hendes hoved.

En gribende og storslået beretning om den usædvanlige familie Cleary.Historien begynder tidligt i dette århundrede, da Paddy Cleary med sin kone Fiona og deres syv børn flytter til Drogheda, et stort australsk landsted. Den ender mere end 50 år senere, da den eneste tilbageblevne af tredje generation – den kønne skuespillerinde Justine O'Neil – strejfer om i verden langt borte fra Drogheda for at lede efter det "virkelige liv" og den "sande kærlighed".Bogens egentlige hovedperson er dog den utæmmelige Meggie, Paddy og Fiona Clarys datter, der ikke viger fra Drogheda, og som holder fast ved sin store kærlighed: Den flotte og ærgerrige præst Ralph de Bricassart - et forhold som den katolske kirke truer med at ødelægge.  Tornfuglene er filmatiseret med Richard Chamberlain i rollen som Ralph de Bricassart.

I 83. f.vender Sulla hjem fra sit eksil. Efter 3 år som diktator trækker han sig frivilligt tilbage og giver plads for den ambitiøse Pompeius, men også Julius Cæsar stræber efter magten

1945 – krigen i Stillehavet er slut. Blandt de ruiner, den har efterladt sig, er en lille gruppe mænd på et militærhospital på en ø »et sted i Ostindien«. De er på en særlig afdeling. Afdeling X. Afdelingen for »trope-kuller«. Krigsneurose.Fem mand og en sygeplejerske, som de tilbeder, og som er klar til at slås for dem og deres ret til at blive betragtet som mennesker. En hårfin balance mellem vidt forskellige personligheder. Da brydes billedet. En ny patient ankommer. En foruroligende person: han virker så helt igennem sund og rask. Hvorfor er han kommet til afdeling X? Balancen er brudt. Aggressionerne tager fat. Menneskelige følelser og forvrængninger af dem driver begivenhederne frem.Den kærlighed, der spirer frem mellem sygeplejerske Honour Langtry og sergent Michael Wilson, fører alle ud i en krise, der uvægerligt må ende voldsomt. Tragisk. Men har de to mulighed for at komme igennem? Med deres kærlighed i behold? Med livet?

Græskronen er fortsættelsen af den dramatiske historie om Roms storhed og fald i republikkens tid, som blev indledt med Ærens Vej.Ufreden breder sig i republikkens Rom. I disse år omkring århundredskiftet f.Kr. må de stolte senatorer se i øjnene, at staten har vokset sig for stor, og at det i stigende grad bliver umuligt at holde provinserne nede. I Lilleasien gør Mithridates åbent oprør og nedslagter brutalt alle romerske borgere, men før Rom når at få samlet en styrke og sendt den på straffeekspedition, opstår en ny, meget mere alvorlig fare lige uden for Roms porte. Forbundsfællekrigen bryder ud, og Roms endeligt som stormagt er pludselig en reel trussel.Gaius Marius „den italiske bondeknold, som ikke kunne græsk“, men alligevel i nødens stund var blevet kaldet til konsulembedet seks gange, får sammen med Sulla til opgave en gang for alle at knægte de oprørske italikere. Gaius Marius og Sullas forhold er blevet en smule anstrengt, siden dengang de sammen drog i felten for at nedkæmpe det numidiske oprør. Gaius Marius er aldrig blevet helt sig selv efter sit slagtilfælde, og Sulla er grundig træt af at stå i skyggen af den store mand. Endelig er der jo stadig sandsigerskens profeti, at Marius skal blive konsul også en syvende gang, hvad der får Sulla til at gyse.Da Gaius Marius midt under Forbundsfællekrigen får endnu et slagtilfælde, griber Sulla chancen og tager magten i forventning om, at Marius nu for alvor er sat ud af spillet. Men der gjorde han regning uden vært. Marius vender frygteligt tilbage, og for første gang i Roms historie føres en romersk hær ind i selve byen.Roms historie og dens historiske skikkelser turde være velkendt stof, men en repetition kan aldrig skade. Den kan tværtimod betyde stor læseglæde, når fakta spækkes med fiktion på en måde, så resultatet bliver en smuk og troværdig helhed, skrev Jyllands-Posten.

Dette første bind i serien om Den romerske Familie. En storslået skildring af det antikke Rom fra år 110 f.Kr. til 100 f.Kr., en periode hvor selve Roms eksistens var truet af invaderende horder fra Germanien. Det er historien om spillet om magten og om de mænd og kvinder, der banede vejen for diktaturet og senere kejsertiden.I centrum står Gaius Marius og Sulla, to ærgerrige mænd, hvis mål det er at nå den højeste position i republikken som Første Mand i Rom. Imod sig har de hele det etablerede, korrupte og uduelige senatorvælde. Gaius Marius er en fortræffelig feltherre og en uforfærdet politiker, men også „en italisk bondeknold, der ikke kan tale græsk“. Den unge og hensynsløse Sulla har den rette patricierbaggrund, men er uden midler og kan derfor ikke opnå den position, der rettelig tilkommer en mand af slægten Cornelius: en plads i senatet. Sulla er ikke bange for at tage utraditionelle midler i brug for at nå sit mål.Chancen får de to mænd, da de gifter sig med to søstre af den fornemme patricierslægt Julius, Gaius Marius med den blide Julia og Sulla med den viltre og forkælede Julilla. Og da hele Roms eksistens snart efter er truet, må Roms senatorer i deres nød hente hjælpen der, hvor den er at finde. At Gaius Marius derefter bryder alle traditioner og skaber en hær af lejesoldater for derefter selv at stille op til konsulvalget hele syv gange – og vinde! – var en konsekvens, som ingen af de forstokkede senatorer i deres vildeste fantasi havde drømt om.

"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"--Publisher marketing.

Carmine Delmonico returns in another riveting page-turner by international bestselling author Colleen McCullough. America in 1968 is in turmoil and the leafy Holloman suburb of Carew is being silently terrorized by a series of vicious and systematic rapes. When finally one victim finds the courage to speak out and go to the police, the rapist escalates to murder. For Captain Carmine Delmonico, it seems to be a case with no clues. And it comes as the Holloman Police Department is troubled: a lieutenant is out of his depth, a sergeant is out of control, and into this mix comes the beautiful, ruthlessly ambitious new trainee, Helen MacIntosh, daughter of the influential president of Chubb University. As the killer makes his plans, Carmine and his team must use every resource at their disposal--including a highly motivated neighborhood watch, the Gentlemen Walkers.

The fourth entry in this “compelling, passionate, and gritty” (Daily Mail, UK) series by internationally acclaimed bestselling author Colleen McCullough sends Carmine Delmonico on a heart-pounding ride through the world of toxic substances and brilliant biochemists to pursue a mysterious killer on the loose.JEALOUSY. INTRIGUE. THEFT. MURDER. CARMINE DELMONICO IS BACK ON THE CASE. HOLLOMAN, CONNECTICUT, 1969. A lethal toxin, extracted from the blowfish, is stolen from a laboratory at Chubb University. It kills within minutes and leaves no trace behind. Captain Carmine Delmonico is therefore quick off the mark when the bodies start to mount up. A sudden death at a dinner party followed by another at a gala black-tie event seem at first to be linked only by the poison and the presence of Dr. Jim Hunter. A black man married to a white woman, Dr. Hunter has faced scandal and prejudice for most of his life, so what would cause him to risk it all now? Or is he being framed for murder—and if so, by whom? Carmine and his detectives must follow the trail through the university town’s crowd of eccentrics, no matter how close to home it may lead.

New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough re-creates an extraordinary epoch before the mighty Republic belonged to Julius Caesar--when Rome's noblewomen were his greatest conquest.His victories were legend--in battle and bedchamber alike. Love was a political weapon he wielded cunningly and ruthlessly in his private war against enemies in the forum. Genius, general, patrician, Gaius Julius Caesar was history. His wives bought him influence. He sacrificed his beloved daughter on the altar of ambition. He burned for the cold-hearted mistress he could never dare trust. Caesar's women all knew--and feared--his power. He adored them, used them, destroyed them on his irresistible rise to prominence. And one of them would seal his fate.

With incomparable storytelling skill, New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough brings Rome alive in all her majesty?and illuminates the world of those favored by the gods at birth.In a time of cataclysmic upheaval, a bold new generation of Romans vied for greatness amid the disintegrating remnants of their beloved Republic. They were the chosen...and the cursed?blessed with wealth and privilege yet burdened by the dictates of destiny in a savage struggle for power that would leave countless numbers crushed and destroyed. But there was one who would tower above them all?a brilliant and beautiful boy whose ambition was unparalleled, whose love was legend, and whose glory was Rome's: a boy they would one day call "Caesar."

With extraordinary narrative power, New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough sweeps the reader into a whirlpool of pageantry and passion, bringing to vivid life the most glorious epoch in human history.When the world cowered before the legions of Rome, two extraordinary men dreamed of personal glory: the military genius and wealthy rural "upstart" Marius, and Sulla, penniless and debauched but of aristocratic birth. Men of exceptional vision, courage, cunning, and ruthless ambition, separately they faced the insurmountable opposition of powerful, vindictive foes. Yet allied they could answer the treachery of rivals, lovers, enemy generals, and senatorial vipers with intricate and merciless machinations of their own?to achieve in the end a bloody and splendid foretold destiny . . . and win the most coveted honor the Republic could bestow.

New York Times bestselling author Colleen McCullough returns us to an age of magnificent triumphs, volcanic passions, and barbaric cruelties.Throughout the Western world, great kingdoms have fallen and despots lay crushed beneath the heels of Rome's advancing legions. But now internal rebellion threatens the stability of the mighty Republic. An aging, ailing Gaius Marius, heralded conqueror of Germany and Numidia, longs for that which was prophesied many years before: an unprecedented seventh consulship of Rome. It is a prize to be won only through treachery and with blood, pitting Marius against a new generation of assassins, power-seekers, and Senate intriguers?and setting him at odds with the ambitious, tormented Lucius Cornelius Sulla, once Marius's most trusted right-hand man, now his most dangerous rival.

Returning to the magnificent setting of Australia's open frontiers, the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author weaves her most powerful novel since "The Thorn Birds"--a new saga of an Australian family that spans from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century.

Sometimes fairy toles can come true-even for plain,shy spinsters like Missy Wright. Neither as pretty as cousin Alicianor as domineering as mother Drusilla, she seems doomed to aquiet life of near poverty at Missalonghi, her family's pitifullysmall homestead in Australia's Blue Mountains. But It's a brandnew century-the twentieth-a time for new thoughts and boldnew actions. And Missy Wright is about to set every self-righteous tongue in the town of Byron wagging. Because she hasjust set her sights on a mysterious, mistrusted and unsuspectingstranger ... who just might be Prince-Charming in disguise.

The Hurlingford family have ruled the small town of Byron, nestled in the Blue Mountains, for generations. Wealthy, powerful and cruel, they get what they want, every time. Missy Wright lives with her widowed mother and crippled aunt in genteel poverty. Hurlingfords by birth, all three are victim to the family's rule of inheritance: the men take it all. Plain, thin and unforgivably single, it seems Missy's life is destined to be dreary. But then a stranger arrives in town. A divorcee from Sydney. And she opens Missy's eyes to the possibility of a happy ending. This is an endearing tale, full of wit, warmth and romance, from the bestselling author of THE THORN BIRDS.

Sometimes when he didn't know he was being watched Meggie would look at him and try desperately to imprint his face upon her brain's core ...And he would turn to find her watching him, a look in his eyes of haunted grief, a doomed look. She understood the implicit message, or thought she did; he must go, back to the Church and his duties. Never again with the same spirit, perhaps, but more able to serve. For only those who have slipped and fallen know the vicissitudes of the way ...

Beautiful.Compelling entertainment.New York TimesA heart-rending epictruly marvelous.Chicago TribuneOne of the most beloved novels of all time, The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCulloughs sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback, returns to enthrall a new generation.