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Colleen McCullough Trivia

Colleen McCullough Trivia Quizzes

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Australian author Colleen McCullough may be best know as the author of "The Thorn Birds", which was made into a television mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck in 1983.
3 Colleen McCullough quizzes and 30 Colleen McCullough trivia questions.
1.
  "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"The Thorn Birds", a tragic story of forbidden love, is one of my favourite books. It was also made into a very popular award winning TV series.
Easier, 10 Qns, beachbabe2004, Dec 10 06
Easier
beachbabe2004
860 plays
2.
  "The Ladies of Missalonghi"   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This delightful little story, by Australian author Colleen McCullough, describes a shy young woman's journey from genteel poverty to the life she has always wanted.
Average, 10 Qns, angelgirl62, May 21 07
Average
angelgirl62
154 plays
3.
  The Thorn Birds    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Love this book!...hope you like the quiz! : )
Average, 10 Qns, ronin013, Jun 06 14
Average
ronin013
1428 plays
trivia question Quick Question
When the story begins, in what country do the Clearys reside?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds"




Related Topics
  Contemporary Literature and Fiction [Literature] (22 quizzes)


Colleen McCullough Trivia Questions
1. What is the name of the family the book is about?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Cleary

The Cleary family are mother Fee, father Paddy and children Frank, Bob, Hughie, Jack, Stu, Meggie, Hal and the twins.

2. When the story begins, in what country do the Clearys reside?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: New Zealand

3. In what way is Una connected to Missy?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: She is Missy's best friend.

Missy is an only child, as her father died when she was a baby. Missy has many aunts on the Hurlingford side of her family - Drusilla has at least six sisters (Aurelia, Augusta, and Antonia, who all married rich men, and the spinsters, Octavia, Julia, and Cornelia) and two brothers (Maxwell and Herbert, both of whom have sons, so they are or were married). Una, as Livilla Hurlingford's first cousin, is also a distant cousin of Missy's - and is Missy's best friend, encouraging her to stand up for herself and to follow her dreams.

4. What is the name of the sheep station in the Australian outback where the story is set?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Drogheda

Paddy Cleary's sister, Mary Carson, owns Drogheda. She asks the Cleary family to come to take over the running of the farm since she has no children of her own.

5. Who was the oldest CLEARY son?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: Bob

Paddy was not Frank's father...Fiona had a brief affair with married man. Fee's father therefore 'bought' her a husband.

6. On the day the story begins, why does Missy go to Maxwell's store?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: To buy oats for the next morning's breakfast.

Missy's uncle Maxwell Hurlingford owns the grocery and feed store in Byron. Missy earns her spending money by selling the extra butter and eggs from Missalonghi, but on the day the story starts, she is replacing the oats that the mice ate. Maxwell's brother Herbert owns the fabric and clothing shop, and Alicia (though the business is officially in her mother's name) owns the hat shop.

7. What is the name of the Catholic priest who falls in love with Meggie?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Ralph de Bricassart

Father Ralph was torn between his love for Meggie, his love for God, and his ambition to rise in the Catholic hierarchy. Father Ralph had to choose between his ambition and his love for Meggie. He chose the former. However, eventually the two consummated their relationship and Meggie gave birth to Ralph's son (unknown to Ralph).

8. What was the staple crop on the Drogheda homestead?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: wool

9. Another of the major characters is the mysterious John Smith. Where does Missy first meet him?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: In Maxwell's store.

John Smith comes into Maxwell's store just before closing time, as Missy is paying for her purchase. She goes from there to the library, where her friend Una asks if she's seen John Smith yet. Missy describes the stranger in the store, and Una confirms that he is John Smith. While Una had known him in Sydney, Missy's first encounter with him was at Maxwell's.

10. What are the names of Meggie's children?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Justine and Dane

Justine is the daughter of Meggie and Luke O'Neill. She becomes an actress. Dane is the illegitimate son of Meggie and Father Ralph de Bricassart, although neither Ralph nor Dane know this. He follows in his father's footsteps and becomes a priest.

11. What was the name of Meggie's husband?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: Luke O'Neill

12. After Aunt Aurelia buys Alicia's household linens from the ladies of Missalonghi, Drusilla decides that they can all afford new dresses for Alicia's wedding. What color and type of fabric will Missy's new dress be?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: Brown satin.

Drusilla chooses lilac crepe. Octavia has had her eye on the blue silk. Missy silently wishes for a scarlet lace dress and hat, but lacks the courage to suggest it, or to object to her mother's recommendation of the brown satin.

13. How does Paddy die?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: In a fire

Paddy is killed in a bush fire on Drogheda. His son Stuie finds him but is killed by a wild boar.

14. What was the name of the couple Meggie lived with, during her marriage?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: The Muellers

15. On her way home from Herbert's shop with the dress fabric (as well as the library book "The Troubled Heart"), Missy collapses in the roadway. What is the cause of her collapse?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: Shortness of breath resulting from a pinched spinal nerve.

John Smith, witnessing her collapse, at first thinks she tripped while trying to avoid him; her mother and aunt fear that it may be heart trouble; and Missy herself, not wanting to be a burden to them, at first insists to Dr. Hurlingford that she must have fainted. Dr. Parkinson, the heart specialist in Sydney, diagnoses her problem as a pinched nerve.

16. What is the name of the sheep farmer whom Meggie marries?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Luke O'Neil

After getting married Luke and Meggie move to Queensland where Meggie lives with the Mueller family and Luke roams the country working as a cane cutter.

17. What color hair did Father Ralph have?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: Black

18. Uncle Billy and the other directors of the Byron Bottle Company are very worried about the business. What has them so concerned?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: A mystery buyer is acquiring a lot of shares in the company.

While several of the family spinsters and widows do own shares, Billy has managed to convince them that the shares are worthless. He plans to trick them into giving Alicia the shares as a wedding present, so that he and the other directors can fend off the mystery buyer's takeover attempt. Byron Bottle is described as a thriving business, so the springs and the machinery must be going strong!

19. In the opening chapter of the book Meggie is given a doll for her birthday. What does she call the doll?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Agnes

Meggie had been dreaming about the doll ever since she had seen it in the local store and couldn't believe it when she was given it as a birthday gift. However, her older brothers took the doll from her and messed up its beautiful clothes.

20. Where did Dane die?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: Greece

21. On the day of the shareholders' meeting, what other notable event happens?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: Alicia elopes with Uncle Billy's chauffeur.

Missy goes to Sydney for her appointment with Dr. Parkinson, and to sell her mother's and aunts' shares, on a Tuesday. The next day, Drusilla goes into Byron to deliver Julia's and Cornelia's money from the shares, and buys the sewing machine. In the meantime, Missy has gone down into the valley to propose to John Smith. They are married two days later, and the shareholders' meeting is the day after their wedding. That morning, the Marshall household is in an uproar over Alicia's elopement, while the men are also preparing for the meeting.

22. When was the book first published?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: 1977

The book was first published in 1977. The TV series was released in 1983.

23. How many children total did Fee have?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: 9

Frank, Bob, Jack, Hughie, Stu, Meggie, Hal, twins Jims and Patsy...whooo!

24. Why did the mystery buyer pay so much for Byron Bottle Company shares?

From Quiz "The Ladies of Missalonghi"

Answer: He had a grudge against the Hurlingfords.

John Smith, the mystery buyer, is a very shrewd businessman who deliberately offers a high price to shareholders who normally would not sell to anyone outside the family. After he gains control and announces his planned improvements, Maxwell, Herbert, Sir William, and several others are so overcome with spite that they sell out to him completely, cutting themselves off from any further profits. This confirms Smith's opinion that they are fools. Smith's grudge against the Hurlingford clan stems from their snobbish treatment of him during his unhappy first marriage, to Una Hurlingford.

25. What colour was the dress that Meggie wore to her coming out party?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: Ashes of roses

Meggie really wanted to catch Ralph's attention by wearing this dress.

26. What was Justine's profession?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: actress

27. Tragically Meggie's beloved son is killed near the end of the book. How does he die?

From Quiz "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough

Answer: He drowns.

Meggie's son Dane drowns in Greece trying to save a swimmer who gets into difficulties in the sea.

28. What is the author's name?

From Quiz The Thorn Birds

Answer: Colleen McCullough

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