Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...
across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints of both black and white families.
An accountant by training, he gained a film contract with his first published novel ''
When the Lion Feeds
''When the Lion Feeds'' (1964) is the debut novel of Rhodesian writer Wilbur Smith. It introduces the Courtney family, whose adventures Smith would tell in many subsequent novels. In 2012, Smith said the novel remained his favourite because it ...
''. This encouraged him to become a full-time writer, and he developed three long chronicles of the South African experience which all became
best-sellers. He acknowledged his publisher Charles Pick's advice to "write about what you know best", and his work takes in much authentic detail of the local hunting and mining way of life, along with the romance and conflict that goes with it.
By the time of his death in 2021 he had published 49 books and had sold more than 140 million copies,
24 million of them in Italy (by 2014).
Early life
Smith was born in
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...
,
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodes ...
, (now
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...
), as was his younger sister Adrienne,
[ to Elfreda (née Lawrence, 1913 – ) and Herbert James Smith. He was named after aviator Wilbur Wright.][
His father Herbert was a ]metal worker
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
who opened a sheet metal factory and then created a cattle ranch on the banks of the Kafue River near Mazabuka, by buying up a number of separate farms.[ "My father was a tough man", said Smith. "He was used to working with his hands and had massively developed arms from cutting metal. He was a boxer, a hunter, very much a man's man. I don't think he ever read a book in his life, including mine".]
As a baby, Smith was sick with cerebral malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...
for ten days but made a full recovery. Together with his younger sister he spent the first years of his life on his parents' cattle ranch, comprising of forest, hills and savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
. On the ranch his companions were the sons of the ranch workers, small black boys with the same interests and preoccupations as Smith. With his companions he ranged through the bush, hiking, hunting, and trapping birds and small mammals. His mother loved books, read to him every night and later gave him novels of escape and excitement, which piqued his interest in fiction; however, his father dissuaded him from pursuing writing.[
]
Education
Smith attended boarding school at Cordwalles Preparatory School in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...
). While in Natal, he continued to be an avid reader and had the good fortune to have an English master who made him his ''protégé'' and would discuss the books Smith had read that week. Unlike Smith's father and many others, the English master made it clear to Smith that being a bookworm was praiseworthy, rather than something to be ashamed of, and let Smith know that his writings showed great promise. He tutored Smith on how to achieve dramatic effects, to develop characters, and to keep a story moving forward.
For high school Smith attended Michaelhouse, a boarding school situated in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. He felt that he never "fitted in" with the people, goals and interests of the other students at Michaelhouse, but he did start a school newspaper for which he wrote the entire content, except for the sports pages. His weekly satirical column became mildly famous and was circulated as far afield as The Wykeham Collegiate and St Anne's.
Accountant
Smith wanted to become a journalist, writing about social conditions in South Africa, but his father's advice to "get a real job" prompted him to become a tax accountant ( chartered accountant).
"My father was a colonialist and I followed what he said until I was in my 20s and learned to think for myself", he said. "I didn't want to perpetuate injustices so I left Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...
in the time of Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
."[
He attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa and graduated with a ]Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, M ...
in 1954. During the university holidays he worked in the gold mines and over the 1953–54 break with his friend Hillary Currey on a fishing boat based out of Walvis Bay and whalers.[ The next year believing he was tough enough after having worked on a fishing boat he took a Christmas vacation job on a whaling factory ship. He lasted four weeks.][ Following graduation, he joined the Goodyear Tires and Rubber Co in Port Elizabeth, where he worked until 1958. After selling their ranch his parents had retired to Kloof near Durban in South Africa. Unfortunately some bad investments forced Smith’s father to return to work. In partnership with his son he established in Salisbury the sheet metal manufacturing business of H. J. Smith and Son Ltd.] However the business ran into financial difficulties forcing Smith, who was by now 25 and divorced to take a job in 1963 as a tax assessor at the Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ...
Service in Salisbury.[
]
Novelist
First novels
With plenty of spare time in the evening and access to plenty of pens and paper through his job at the Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ...
Service, Smith turned back to his love of writing.[ He found that he was able to sell his first story "On Flinder’s Face" under the pen name Steven Lawrence to '']Argosy
Argosy or The Argosy may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Argosy'' (magazine), an American pulp magazine 1882–1978 and revived 1990–1994, 2004–2006
* ''Argosy'' (UK magazine), three British magazines
* Argosy spaceship in ''Escap ...
'' magazine in April 1963 for £70, twice his monthly salary. After a number of further acceptances, he wrote his first novel, ''The Gods First Make Mad'', and had by 1962 received 20 rejections. Reviewing what he had written Smith could see that he had at 180,000 words it was long, badly written, had too many characters and had tried to express an opinion on everything from politics and racial tension to women.[
Dejected he returned to work as an accountant, until when he was 27 years old he received a telegram from Ursula Williams, his agent in London enquiring as to progress on his new novel.][ Encouraged by her expectation that he would be writing another novel the urge to write once again overwhelmed him. He commenced work on another novel:
]I wrote about my own father and my darling mother. I wove into the story chunks of early African history. I wrote about black people and white. I wrote about hunting and gold mining and carousing and women. I wrote about love and loving and hating. In short I wrote about all the things I knew well and loved better. I left out all the immature philosophies and radical politics and rebellious posturing that had been the backbone of the first novel. I even came up with a catching title, ''When the Lion Feeds
''When the Lion Feeds'' (1964) is the debut novel of Rhodesian writer Wilbur Smith. It introduces the Courtney family, whose adventures Smith would tell in many subsequent novels. In 2012, Smith said the novel remained his favourite because it ...
''.
''When the Lion Feeds'' tells the stories of two young men, twins Sean and Garrick Courtney. The characters' surname was a tribute to Smith's grandfather, Courtney Smith, who had been a transport rider during the Witwatersrand gold rush in the late 1880s, had commanded a Maxim gun
The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.
The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historia ...
team during the Zulu Wars. He had also hunted elephant both as sport and to provide meat for his family.[ Courtney Smith had a magnificent ]moustache
A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio' ...
and could tell wonderful stories that had helped inspire his grandson.
After reading the manuscript Smith's agent in London, Ursula Winant, rang Charles Pick the deputy managing director of William Heinemann
William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London.
Early life
On 18 May 1863, Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, England. Heine ...
and convinced him to look at the novel. She also asked for an advance of £500 and a guaranteed initial print run of 5,000 copies, and that it was to be published before Christmas. After being impressed after reading the first chapter of the novel over the weekend Pick gave it to the company’s sales director Tim Manderson, who agreed that it should be published. Pick rang Winant and offered an advance of £1,000, with an initial print run of 10,000 copies.[ By the publication date Heinemanns had increased the print run to 20,000.
The book went on to be successful, selling around the world (except in South Africa, where it was banned) and enabling Smith to leave his job and write full-time.] Charles Pick later became Smith's mentor and agent. Smith says Pick gave him advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best." Pick also advised: "Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written." Smith has said that, "Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word."
In 2012, Smith said ''When the Lion Feeds'' remained his favourite because it was his first to be published. Film rights were bought by Stanley Baker
Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...
but no movie resulted. However, the money enabled Smith to quit his job in the South African taxation office, calculating he had enough to not have to work for two years.
"I hired a caravan, parked it in the mountains, and wrote the second book", he said. "I knew it was sort of a watershed. I was 30 years of age, single again, and I could take the chance."
Smith's second published novel was ''The Dark of the Sun'' (1965), a tale about mercenaries during the Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
. Film rights were sold to George Englund
George Englund (June 22, 1926 – September 14, 2017) was an American film editor, director, producer, and actor.
Biography
Englund was born George Howe Ripley in Washington, D.C., the son of actress Mabel Albertson and Harold Austin Ripley. ...
and MGM and it was filmed in 1968 starring Rod Taylor.
Smith did not originally envision the Courtney family from ''When the Lion Feeds'' would become a series, but he returned to them for ''The Sound of Thunder
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1966), taking the lead characters up to after the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
. At the time he was writing ''The Sound of Thunder'' in a caravan in the Inyanga mountains in November 1965 Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
unilaterally declared Rhodesian independence. The resulting political violence forced Smith to return to the relative safety of Salisbury where he continued working on the novel during the day, while serving at night as a member of the reserve of the Rhodesian Police.[ "I would get called out and have to get bodies of children from pit lavatories after they had been killed with pangas ('']machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca uses a machete to carve wood. ...
s'')", he recalled.[ As Smith didn’t share Ian Smith's views he moved with his now pregnant second wife to Onrus River near Hermanus in South Africa.][
''Shout at the Devil'' (1968) was a World War I adventure tale which would be filmed in 1976. It was followed by '']Gold Mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD''
See also
* ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith
* Gold mining
*G ...
'' (1970), an adventure tale about the gold mining industry set in contemporary South Africa, based on a real-life flooding of a gold mine near Johannesburg in 1968.
'' The Diamond Hunters'' (1971) was set in contemporary West Africa, later filmed as '' The Kingfisher Caper'' (1975). Around this time, Smith also wrote an original screenplay, ''The Last Lion
''The Last Lion'' is a 1972 South African action film directed by Elmo De Witt and starring Jack Hawkins, Karen Spies and Dawid Van Der Walt. The screenplay was written by Wilbur Smith, one of his rare original screenplays. He used a similar ...
'' (1971) which was filmed in South Africa with Jack Hawkins; it was not a success.
''The Sunbird''
Smith admits to being tempted by movie money at this stage of his career but deliberately wrote something that was a complete change of pace, '' The Sunbird'' (1972).
It was a very important book for me in my development as a writer because at that stage I was starting to become enchanted by the lure of Hollywood. There had been some movies made of my books and I thought "whoa, what a way to go… All that money!" and I thought "hold on—am I a scriptwriter or am I a real writer?" Writing a book that could never be filmed was my declaration of independence. I made it so diffuse, with different ages and brought characters back as different entities. It was a complex book, it gave me a great deal of pleasure but that was the inspiration—to break free.
''Eagle in the Sky
''Eagle in the Sky'' is a novel by Wilbur Smith, published in 1974.
The book sold 600,000 copies in the first six months.
Plot
14-year-old David Morgan, the handsome and academically gifted heir to a South African business empire and fortune, l ...
'' (1974) was more typical fare, as was '' The Eye of the Tiger'' (1975). Film rights for both were bought by Michael Klinger who was unable to turn them into movies; however, Klinger did produce films of ''Gold'' (1974) and '' Shout at the Devil'' (1976).
'' Cry Wolf'' (1976) was a return to historical novels, set during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. He then returned to the Courtney family of his first novel with '' A Sparrow Falls'' (1977), set during and after World War I. '' Hungry as the Sea'' (1978) and '' Wild Justice'' (1979) were contemporary stories—the latter was his first best seller in the USA.
Move to Pan Macmillan
He embarked on a new series of historical novels, centering around the fictitious Ballantyne family, who helped colonise Rhodesia: ''A Falcon Flies
''A Falcon Flies'' is a novel by Wilbur Smith. It was the first in a series of books known as The Ballantyne Novels.
The Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s inspired Smith to research and write a book set in historical Rhodesia. He originally planned ...
'' (1980), ''Men of Men
''Men of Men'' is a novel by Wilbur Smith, the second in the The Ballantyne Novels, Ballantyne Novels series. It is set in the 1880s during the colonisation of Rhodesia and the First Matabele War and climaxes with the Shangani Patrol.
Plot
''Me ...
'' (1981), '' The Angels Weep'' (1982) and '' The Leopard Hunts in Darkness'' (1984).
'' The Burning Shore'' (1985) saw him return to the Courtney family, from World War I onwards. He called this a "breakthrough" book for him "because the female lead kicked the arse of all the males in the book."
Following the publication of ''The Burning Shore'' Charles Pick retired from Heinemann in 1985. As Smith did not want to lose Pick’s input and needed someone to oversee his contract and develop his readership, he asked him to become his literary agent. Pick agreed, setting up in business as Charles Pick Consultancy. Pick was able to secure a better contract for Smith, which involved Smith moving to Pan Macmillan
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, est ...
, who had previously only been his paperback publisher.[
Smith stayed with the Courtney family for '' Power of the Sword'' (1986) (up to World War II), '']Rage
Rage may refer to:
* Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger
Games
* Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game
* Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell
* ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...
'' (1987) (the post-war period up until the Sharpeville massacre), ''A Time to Die A time to die is a phrase from Chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.
A Time to Die or Time to Die may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''A Time to Die'' (1982 film), a 1982 film by Matt Cimber
* ''Time to Die'' (1985 film), a ...
'' (1989) (the war in Mozambique) and '' Golden Fox'' (1990) (the Angola War).
'' Elephant Song'' (1991) was a more contemporary tale, but then he kicked off a new cycle of novels set in Ancient Egypt: '' River God'' (1993) and '' The Seventh Scroll'' (1995). He returned to the Courtneys for ''Birds of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predato ...
'' (1997) and ''Monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
'' (1999), then published another Ancient Egyptian story, '' Warlock'' (2001).
'' Blue Horizon'' (2003) was a historical Courtney tale and ''The Triumph of the Sun
''The Triumph of the Sun'' is a novel by Wilbur Smith set during the Siege of Khartoum. Smith himself said the following about the novel:
"That incident had all the elements of a great story setting because you have the captive characters who are ...
'' (2005) had the Courtneys meet the Ballantynes. '' The Quest'' (2007) was in Ancient Egypt then '' Assegai'' (2009) had the Courtneys. ''Those in Peril
''Those in Peril'' is a book by the author Wilbur Smith. The book focuses on the lives of billionaire Hazel Bannock, who is the owner of the Bannock Oil Corp, and Major Hector Cross, an ex-SAS operative and the owner of a security company, Cros ...
'' (2011) was contemporary, as was '' Vicious Circle'' (2013). ''Desert God
''Desert God'' is a novel by author Wilbur Smith first published in 2014. It is part of a series of novels by Smith set to Ancient Egypt and follows the fate of the Egyptian Kingdom through the eyes of Taita, a multi-talented and highly skille ...
'' (2014) brought Smith back to Ancient Egypt.
Later career: Move to HarperCollins and using co-writers
In December 2012, it was announced that Smith was leaving his English-language publisher of 45 years, Pan Macmillan, to move to HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
. As part of his new six book deal, Smith wrote select novels with co-writers, in addition to writing books on his own. In a press release Smith was quoted as saying: "For the past few years my fans have made it very clear that they would like to read my novels and revisit my family of characters faster than I can write them. For them, I am willing to make a change to my working methods so the stories in my head can reach the page more frequently."
The first of the co-written novels was '' Golden Lion'' (2015), a Courtney novel. ''Predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
'' (2016) was contemporary. ''Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...
'' (2016) brought him back to Ancient Egypt. In 2021 Picadilly Press published two books for young readers by Wilbur Smith, co-written with Chris Wakling – ''Cloudburst'' and ''Thunderbolt''.
Move to Bonnier Zaffre
In 2017 Smith left Harper Collins to join Bonnier Zaffre, which gave them language rights to eight new books, together with the English language rights to 34 of Smith’s backlist titles. His new publisher announced at the time of the signing that they would continue the existing release schedule, instigated by HarperCollins, of two titles per year with a number of co-authors, including Corban Addison, David Churchill, Tom Harper and Imogen Robertson.
In 2018 he published his autobiography ''On Leopard Rock''.[
]
Awards
In 2002, the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities granted Smith the Inaugural Sport Shooting Ambassador Award.
Personal life
Smith was working for his father when he married his first wife, Anne Rennie, a secretary, in a Presbyterian Church on 5 July 1957 in Salisbury, Rhodesia
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its ...
. "We got on well in the bedroom but not outside it", Smith said. "On our honeymoon, I thought: "What have I got myself into?" but resigned myself to it. "[I was described as a sex machine: inal 1 EditionPetty, Moira. The Times 6 April 2005: 9.] There were two children from this marriage, a son, Shaun, was born on 21 May 1958, and then a daughter, Christian. The marriage ended in 1962.
After being introduced at a party in Salisbury, Smith married his second wife Jewell Slabbart on 28 August 1964.[ They had a son, Lawrence, following the publication of Smith’s first novel ('']When the Lion Feeds
''When the Lion Feeds'' (1964) is the debut novel of Rhodesian writer Wilbur Smith. It introduces the Courtney family, whose adventures Smith would tell in many subsequent novels. In 2012, Smith said the novel remained his favourite because it ...
'', 1964). "Everyone looked down on me, including her", he told one interviewer. "We didn't know anything about mutual respect or working together towards a goal—she thought I was useless." This marriage also ended in divorce. Smith later said "On honeymoon I realised I didn't know her is second wife
In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' i ...
well... By the time we divorced, I felt as if I'd been in two car smashes."
Smith then met a young divorcée named Danielle Thomas, who had been born in the same town and had read all of his books, and thought they were wonderful. They married in 1971. Smith later said "she manipulated me. I was making a lot of money and she spent it by the wheelbarrow load... she had intercepted letters from my children. She destroyed my relationship with them because she had a son from a previous marriage and wanted him to be the dauphin."[
Smith dedicated his books to her until she died from brain cancer in 1999, following a six-year illness.] Smith said:
The first part of our marriage was great. The last part was hell. Suddenly I was living with a different person. They chopped out half Danielle's brain and her personality changed. She became very difficult. I found it very, very hard to spend a lot of time with her because her moods would flick back and forth. She'd say, 'Why am I dying and you are well? It's unfair.' I'd say, 'Look, life isn't fair.' But when she passed away, I was sitting next to her, holding her hand as she took her last breath.
He met his fourth wife, a Tadjik woman named Mokhiniso Rakhimova, in a WHSmith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...
bookstore in London on 18 January 2000. [ The two fell in love and married in Cape Town in May 2000. She was a law student studying at Moscow University and younger than him by 39 years.
On their relationship, Smith said:
"It really was love at first sight—and now she's got the best English teacher in the world. Of course people ask about the age gap, but I just say, 'What's 39 years?' Sure, she's young enough to be my daughter, so what?"]
When Smith married Danielle Thomas, he cut off contact with his son Shaun and daughter Christian. He was also estranged from his son Lawrence. "My relationship with their mothers broke down and because of what the law was they went with their mothers and were imbued with their mothers' morality in life and they were not my people any more", he said. "They didn't work. They didn't behave in a way I like. I'm quite a selfish person. I'm worried about my life and the people who are really important to me." He became close to Danielle's son from a previous relationship, Dieter Schmidt, and adopted him. Smith and Shaun subsequently reconciled. In 2002 he and Schmidt wound up in court in a dispute over assets and they became estranged. Smith:
"What I do, and I know it's a mistake but I just can't help myself, is I get into a relationship and I just want to give that person everything... I'm overgenerous. Then if they turn on me, I cut them off, it's finished. I'm not the easiest guy in the world, I can tell you, but if you are onside with me you can have everything, I'll lay down my life for you, you can go and help yourself to the bank account virtually. But if you let me down, then bye-bye-blackbird."
Smith’s father had owned a Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
during the period when the family was cattle ranching. Smith followed in his footsteps gaining a private pilot’s licence in the mid-to-late 1960s, which allowed him to fly all over Africa. However after a bad experience he gave up piloting in 1974.[ He had homes in London, Bishopscourt in Cape Town, Switzerland and Malta.
After having visited it for a number of years he purchased of land at the southern end of the island of Cerf in the ]Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
in 1989. After developing the property over a number of years to include three houses, boats, emergency generators and desalination plants, he sold it in 2001 together with three motorboats.
Death
Smith died unexpectedly on 13 November 2021 at his Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
home; he was 88.[ His website announced that "He leaves behind him a treasure-trove of novels, as well as completed and yet to be published co-authored books and outlines for future stories."
]
Courtney series
The Courtney series is divided into three parts, each of which follows a particular era of the Courtney family.
In chronological order, the parts are Third Sequence, First Sequence, then Second Sequence.
However, this is a slight generalisation, so in fact the book sequence is as follows, with publication dates in parentheses:
# Birds of Prey 1660s (1997) (Birds of Prey series)
# Golden Lion 1670s (2015) (with Giles Kristian)
# Monsoon 1690s (1999) (Birds of Prey series)
# The Tiger's Prey 1700s (2017) (with Tom Harper)
# Blue Horizon 1730s (2003) (Birds of Prey series)
# Ghost Fire 1754 (2019) (with Tom Harper)
# Storm Tide 1774 (2022) (with Tom Harper)
# When the Lion Feeds 1860s–1890s (1964) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
# The Triumph of the Sun 1880s (2005) (Courtney and Ballantyne)
# King of Kings 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson) (Courtney and Ballantyne)
# The Sound of Thunder 1899–1906 (1966) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
# Assegai 1906–1918 (2009) (Assegai series)
# The Burning Shore 1917–1920 (1985) (The Burning Shore Series)
# War Cry 1918–1939 (2017) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
# A Sparrow Falls 1918–1925 (1977) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
# Power of the Sword 1931–1948 (1986) (The Burning Shore series)
# Courtney's War 1939 (2018) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
# Rage 1950s and 1960s (1987) (The Burning Shore series)
# Legacy of War After WWII (2021) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
# Golden Fox 1969–1979 (1990) (The Burning Shore series)
# A Time to Die 1987 (1989) (The Burning Shore series)
Ballantyne series
The Ballantyne Novels chronicle the lives of the Ballantyne family, from the 1860s through the 1980s, against a background of the history of Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
). The fifth novel seeks to combine the Ballantyne narrative with that of Smith's other family saga, The Courtney Novels.
The books are set in the following time periods:
# ''A Falcon Flies'' 1860 (1980)
# ''Men of Men'' 1870s–1890s (1981)
# ''The Angels Weep'' 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977 (1982)
# ''The Leopard Hunts in Darkness'' 1980s (1984)
# ''The Triumph of the Sun'' 1884 (2005)
# ''King of Kings'' 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson)
# ''Call of the Raven'' Early 1800s (2020) (with Corban Addison)
Ancient Egypt series
The Ancient Egypt series is an historical fiction series based in large part on Pharaoh Memnon's time, addressing both his story and that of his mother Lostris through the eyes of his mother's slave Taita, and mixing in elements of the Hyksos
Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). ...
' domination and eventual overthrow.
#'' River God'' (1993)
#'' The Seventh Scroll'' (1995)*
#'' Warlock'' (2001)
#'' The Quest'' (2007)
# ''Desert God
''Desert God'' is a novel by author Wilbur Smith first published in 2014. It is part of a series of novels by Smith set to Ancient Egypt and follows the fate of the Egyptian Kingdom through the eyes of Taita, a multi-talented and highly skille ...
'' (2014)
# ''Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...
'' (2016)
# ''The New Kingdom
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
'' (2021) (with Mark Chadbourn
Mark Chadbourn is an English fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and horror author with more than a dozen novels (and one non-fiction book) published around the world.
Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners. he g ...
)
# ''Titans of War'' (2022) (with Mark Chadbourn
Mark Chadbourn is an English fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and horror author with more than a dozen novels (and one non-fiction book) published around the world.
Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners. he g ...
)
* ''The Seventh Scroll'' is set in modern times but reflects the other books in the series via archaeological discoveries.
Influences
As a child, Smith enjoyed reading '' Biggles'' books and ''Just William
''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...
'' (1922), as well as the works of John Buchan, C. S. Forester and H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform ...
. [ Other authors he admired include ]Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell.
Born in India to British colonial par ...
, Robert Graves, Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
and John Steinbeck.
"I always think I am from the 17th century", said Smith. "I have no interest in technology, or to rush, rush, rush through life. I like to take time to smell the roses and the buffalo dung."
He says he has tried to live by the advice of Charles Pick, his first publisher:
He said, "Write only about those things you know well." Since then I have written only about Africa... He said, "Do not write for your publishers or for your imagined readers. Write only for yourself." This was something that I had learned for myself. Charles merely confirmed it for me. Now, when I sit down to write the first page of a novel, I never give a thought to who will eventually read it. He said, "Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written." Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word. I write my books while other aspiring authors are talking theirs away. He said, "Dedicate yourself to your calling, but read widely and look at the world around you, travel and live your life to the full, so that you will always have something fresh to write about." It was advice I have taken very much to heart. I have made it part of my personal philosophy. When it is time to play, I play very hard. I travel and hunt and scuba dive and climb mountains and try to follow the advice of Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...
; "Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run." When it is time to write, I write with all my heart and all my mind.
Criticism
Although many respected historians and authentic news letters endorse Smith's work, some critics have accused it of not having been thoroughly researched. One of Smith's main critics, Martin Hall, asserts in his article in the '' Journal of Southern African Studies'' that the novels present biased, illiberal views against African nationalism. Other critics claim that misogynistic, homophobic, and racist assumptions as well as political agendas are present in these novels.
Chronological bibliography
Filmography
Several of Smith's novels have been turned into movies and TV shows.
*''The Dark of the Sun'' (1965), filmed as '' The Mercenaries'' (1968) starring Rod Taylor, Jim Brown
James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be o ...
and Yvette Mimieux
*''Gold Mine'' (1970), filmed as ''Gold'' (1974) starring Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...
and Susannah York
*'' The Diamond Hunters'' (1971), filmed as '' The Kingfisher Caper'' (1975) film and as '' The Diamond Hunters'' (2001) TV series starring Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supportin ...
and Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in '' My Name Is Earl'', S ...
*'' Shout at the Devil'' (1968), filmed as ''Shout at the Devil'' (1976) starring Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...
, Lee Marvin and Barbara Parkins
*'' Wild Justice'' (1979), filmed as ''Wild Justice'' but was released to video titled ''Covert Assassin
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
'' (1993) starring Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supportin ...
*'' The Burning Shore'' (1985), filmed as ''Burning Shore
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...
'' (1991) starring Isabelle Gélinas, Derek de Lint
Dick Hein "Derek" de Lint (; born 17 July 1950) is a Dutch film and television actor, known for playing the role of Derek Rayne in '' Poltergeist: The Legacy''.
Life and career
Dick Hein de Lint was born on 17 July 1950 in The Hague in the N ...
and Jason Connery
*'' River God'' (1993) and '' The Seventh Scroll'' (1995), filmed as '' The Seventh Scroll'' (1999) TV miniseries starring Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supportin ...
, Jeff Fahey and Karina Lombard
In 1976 Smith said "At first I didn't have complete control over the screenplay when my novels were turned into films. Now I tell the producer and director that they either use my screenplay or else there is no movie. That saves a lot of time."
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
Popularising Late-Apartheid South Africa – An Interview with Wilbur Smith
Conducted by John A. Stotesbury in January 1996.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Wilbur
1933 births
2021 deaths
20th-century South African novelists
21st-century South African novelists
Zambian writers
British Book Award winners
Zambian people of English descent
English people of Zambian descent
Zambian emigrants to South Africa
British historical novelists
Alumni of Michaelhouse
Rhodes University alumni
People from Makhanda, Eastern Cape
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
20th-century Zambian writers
People from Kabwe District