| Wilbur Smith | |
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Wilbur Smith, signing The Quest |
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| Born | 9 January 1933 Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia1 |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Genres | Natural, Adventure |
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www.wilbursmithbooks.com |
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Wilbur Addison Smith (born 9 January 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia, now Kabwe, Zambia) is a best-selling novelist. His writings include 16th and 17th century tales about the founding of the southern territories of Africa and the subsequent adventures and international intrigues relevant to these settlements. His books often fall into one of three series. These works of fiction draw on history and help to explain the rise and historical influence of the Dutch and English whites in southern Africa that eventually claimed this diamond and gold rich and disputed territory as home.
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As a baby, he was sick with swag flu for ten days, but made a full recovery. He spent the first years of his life on his father's cattle ranch which consisted of 12,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of forest, hills and savannah. On the ranch his companions were the sons of the ranch workers, small black boys with the same interests and preoccupations as Wilbur Smith. With his companions he ranged through the bush, hiking, hunting, and trapping birds and small mammals. His mother 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.
He went to boarding school at Cordwalles Preparatory School in Natal (now Kwa-Zulu Natal). While in Natal he continued to be an avid reader and had the good fortune to have an English master who made Wilbur Smith his protege, and would discuss the books Wilbur had read that week. Unlike Wilbur's father and many others, the English master made it clear to Wilbur that being a bookworm was praiseworthy, rather than something to be ashamed of and let Wilbur know that his writings showed great promise. He tutored Wilbur on how to achieve dramatic effects, to develop characters and to keep a story moving forward.
Next he went to Michaelhouse (St Michael's academy for young gentlemen) situated on the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. He never felt like he "fit in" with the people, goals, and interests of the other students at Michaelhouse. On a positive note, he did start a school newspaper at Michaelhouse for which he wrote the entire content, except for the sports pages. His weekly satirical column became mildly famous, and were circulated as far as afield as Wykham Collegiate and St Annes.
Later Wilbur attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He became 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). After he qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he married and had two children. The marriage ended badly and the divorce led to alimony and child support payments that left him penniless at only twenty four years of age.
He turned back to his first love, fiction and this time he determined to write it, and to his delight found that he was able to sell his first story to 'Argosy' magazine for seventy pounds, which was twice his monthly salary. His first attempt at a novel, 'The Gods First Make Mad', was rejected so for a time he returned to work as a tax accountant, until the urge to write once again overwhelmed him .
His first successful novel 'When the Lion Feeds' was published in 1964, written while he worked for Salisbury Inland Revenue. It tells the story about a young man, Sean Courtney and his twin brother Garry. The character's name was a tribute to Wilbur Smith's Grandfather Courtney James Smith who had had commanded a Maxim gun team during the Zulu Wars. Wilbur Smith's grandfather, Courtney James Smith, had a magnificent mustache and could tell wonderful stories that had helped inspire Wilbur. The novel, When the Lion Feeds tells the story of Sean and Garry growing up on an African cattle ranch. The story wove in facts about Wilbur Smiths own father and mother. He added in early African history and included the perspective of black people and white. He wrote about hunting, gold mining, carousing, women, love, sex, and hate. This time he left out all the philosophies and radical politics and rebellious posturing that had been the backbone of his first attempt a novel. The book gained a film deal and its success encouraged him to become a full-time writer. His publisher and later agent, Charles Pick, gave him advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best." Pick also told him ""Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written." Smith states that "Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word."
He married again following the publication of his first novel, and had another child, but this too ended in divorce. He met a young divorcee named Danielle Thomas who had been born in the same town and had read all of Wilbur Smith's books, and thought that they were wonderful. In 1971 they married. Smith dedicated his books to her until her death from brain cancer in 1999 after a 6 year illness.
In a bookstore in London he met a Tadjik girl, Mokhiniso Rakhimova 39 years younger than Mr Smith. Mokhiniso had received her law degree from Moscow University. He fell in love once again and they married in May 2000.
He states that Africa is his major inspiration, and currently he has over 30 novels published. Smith now lives in London, but avows an abiding concern for the peoples and wildlife of his native continent.
In 2002, Wilbur Smith was granted the Inaugural Sport Shooting Ambassador Award by the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities.
The Courtney series can be split into three parts, each part following a particular era of the Courtney family.
In chronological order it goes the Third Sequence, First Sequence, then the Second Sequence. However this is a slight generalization, so in fact the book sequence is:
The Ballantyne Novels chronicle the lives of the Ballantyne family, from the 1860s through the 1980s, against a background of the history of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
A 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 historical fiction series based in a large part on Pharaoh Thutmose III's time along with his story and that of his stepmother Hatshepsut through the eyes of his mother's vizier Senemut mixing in elements of the Hyksos' domination and eventual overthrow.
The Seventh Scroll is set in modern times, but reflects the other three through archeological discoveries.
Some critics of Wilbur Smith argue that his novels often contain sexist and racist assumptions [1][2] and that they may have a political agenda.
Eye of the tiger (1975) bears many similarities to Hemingways "Islands in the Stream" (1970 post.)
| Year | Title | Timeframe | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | When the Lion Feeds | 1860s-1890s | Courtney |
| 1965 | The Dark of the Sun | 1960s | - |
| 1966 | The Sound of Thunder | 1899–1906 | Courtney |
| 1968 | Shout at the Devil | 1913 | - |
| 1970 | Gold Mine | 1960s | - |
| 1971 | The Diamond Hunters | late 1960s | - |
| 1972 | The Sunbird | modern times | - |
| 1974 | Eagle in the Sky | modern times | - |
| 1975 | The Eye of the Tiger | modern times | - |
| 1976 | Cry Wolf | immediately before World War II | - |
| 1977 | A Sparrow Falls | 1918–1925 | Courtney |
| 1978 | Hungry as the Sea | modern times | - |
| 1979 | Wild Justice (UK); The Delta Decision (US) | modern times | |
| 1980 | A Falcon Flies | 1860s | Ballantyne |
| 1981 | Men of Men | 1870s-1890s | Ballantyne |
| 1982 | The Angels Weep | 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977 | Ballantyne |
| 1984 | The Leopard Hunts in Darkness | 1980s | Ballantyne |
| 1985 | The Burning Shore | 1917–1920 | Courtney |
| 1986 | Power of the Sword | 1931–1948 | Courtney |
| 1987 | Rage | 1950s and 1960s | Courtney |
| 1989 | A Time to Die | 1987 | Courtney |
| 1990 | Golden Fox | 1969–1979 | Courtney |
| 1991 | Elephant Song | modern times | - |
| 1993 | River God | Ancient Egypt | Egyptian |
| 1995 | The Seventh Scroll | modern times | Egyptian |
| 1997 | Birds of Prey | 1660s | Courtney |
| 1999 | Monsoon | 1690s | Courtney |
| 2001 | Warlock | Ancient Egypt | Egyptian |
| 2003 | Blue Horizon | 1730s | Courtney |
| 2005 | The Triumph of the Sun | 1880s | Courtney & Ballantyne |
| 2007 | The Quest | Ancient Egypt | Egyptian |
| 2009 | Assegai | 1906–1918 | Courtney |
| 2011 | Those in Peril | modern times | - |
Several of Smith's novels have been turned into movies.