Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries.
He gained a film contract with his first published novel, When the Lion Feeds, which encouraged him to become a full-time writer. He went on to write three long chronicles of the South African experience, which became best-sellers. He acknowledged his publisher Charles Pick's advice to "write about what you know best"; his work focuses on southern African ways of life, with emphasis on hunting, mining, romance, and conflict.
By the time of his death in 2021, he had published 49 books. They have sold at least 140 million copies.
Early life
Smith was born in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, (now Zambia), as was his younger sister Adrienne, Together with his younger sister he spent the first years of his life on his parents' cattle ranch, comprising of forest, hills and savanna. 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. 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 all the 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 in the time of Ian Smith." 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 Service in Salisbury.
Novelist
First novels
With spare time in the evening and access to plenty of pens and paper through his job at the Inland Revenue Service, Smith turned back to his love of writing. After a number of further acceptances, he wrote his first novel, The Gods First Make Mad, but received 20 rejections. Reviewing what he had written, Smith could see that he had a novel of 180,000 words: it was too long, badly written, had too many characters, and tried to express opinions on everything from politics and racial tension to women.</blockquote>
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 team during the Zulu Wars. He had also hunted elephant both as sport and to provide meat for his family.
In 2012, Smith said that When the Lion Feeds remained his favourite because it was his first to be published. Film rights were bought by Stanley Baker 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.</blockquote>
Smith's second published novel was The Dark of the Sun (1965), a tale about mercenaries during the Congo Crisis. Film rights were sold to George Englund and MGM and it was filmed in 1968 starring Rod Taylor.
Smith did not originally envision that the Courtney family from When the Lion Feeds would become a series, but he returned to them for The Sound of Thunder (1966), taking the lead characters up to after the Second Boer War. At the time he was writing The Sound of Thunder in a caravan in the Inyanga mountains in November 1965, Ian Smith 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 British South Africa Police.
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 (1971), which was filmed in South Africa with Jack Hawkins; it was not a success.
The Sunbird
Smith admitted 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).
<blockquote>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.</blockquote>
Eagle in the Sky (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 the 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 (1980), Men of Men (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."
In 1985, following publication of The Burning Shore, Charles Pick retired from Heinemann. As Smith did not want to lose Pick's input, and needed someone to oversee his contract and develop his readership, he asked Pick to become his literary agent. Pick agreed, setting up in business as Charles Pick Consultancy. Pick secured a better contract for Smith, which involved Smith moving to Pan Macmillan, who had previously only been his paperback publisher.
The first of the co-written novels was Golden Lion (2015), a Courtney novel. Predator (2016) was contemporary. Pharaoh (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 moved again, this time joining 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.
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, Southern Rhodesia. "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." 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, 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 the honeymoon I realized I didn't know her [his second wife] 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 that "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 said:
<blockquote>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.</blockquote>
He met his fourth wife, a Tajik woman named Mokhiniso Rakhimova, in a WHSmith bookstore in London on 18 January 2000.</blockquote>
Smith's father had owned a Tiger Moth 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.
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 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 home; he was 88.
Series
Courtney
The Courtney series used to be divided into three parts; however, it can now be split into five parts, each of which follows a particular era of the Courtney family.
In chronological order, it goes the Third, First, Fourth, Fifth then the Second Sequence. However, this is a slight generalization, so in fact the book sequence is as follows, with publication dates in parentheses:
- Birds of Prey 1660s (1997) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
- Golden Lion 1670s (2015) - with Giles Kristian (Birds of Prey extended series)
- Monsoon 1690s (1999) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
- The Tiger's Prey 1700s (2017) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
- Blue Horizon 1730s (2003) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
- Ghost Fire 1754 (2019) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
- Storm Tide 1774 (2022) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
- Nemesis 1794/1806 (2023) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
- Warrior King 1820 (2024) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
- When the Lion Feeds 1860s–1890s (1964) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
- The Triumph of the Sun 1880s (2005) (Triumph of the Sun series)
- King of Kings 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson) (Triumph of the Sun series)
- Fire on the Horizon 1899 (2024) (with Imogen Robertson) (Triumph of the Sun series)
- 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)
- Crossfire 1943 (2025) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
- Legacy of War After WWII (2021) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
- Rage 1950s and 1960s (1987) (The Burning Shore series)
- Golden Fox 1969–1979 (1990) (The Burning Shore series)
- A Time to Die 1987 (1989) (The Burning Shore series)
Ballantyne
The 'original' Ballantyne Novel series chronicles the lives of the Ballantyne family, from the 1860s through the 1980s, against a background of the history of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Three further novels were published between 2005 and 2024 (Triumph of the Sun series), which combine the Ballantyne narrative with that of Smith's other family saga, The Courtney Novels. An eighth novel was published in 2020, which is a prequel to the original series.
The books are set in the following time periods:
- Call of the Raven Early 1800s (2020) (with Corban Addison)
- A Falcon Flies 1860 (1980)
- Men of Men 1870s–1890s (1981)
- The Triumph of the Sun 1884 (2005)
- King of Kings 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson)
- Fire on the Horizon 1899 (2024) (with Imogen Robertson)
- The Angels Weep 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977 (1982)
- The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1980s (1984)
Ancient Egypt
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' domination and eventual overthrow.
- River God (1993)
- The Seventh Scroll (1995)*
- Warlock (2001)
- The Quest (2007)
- Desert God (2014)
- Pharaoh (2016)
- The New Kingdom (2021) (with Mark Chadbourn)
- Titans of War (2022) (with Mark Chadbourn)
- Testament (2023) (with Mark Chadbourn)
<nowiki>*</nowiki> 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 (1922), as well as the works of John Buchan, C. S. Forester and H. Rider Haggard.
"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 said that he has tried to live by the advice of Charles Pick, his first publisher:
<blockquote>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; "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. as well as political agendas, are present in these novels.
Chronological bibliography
{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! Title
! Timeframe
! Series
|-
| 1964
| When the Lion Feeds
| 1860s–1890s – Anglo-Zulu War
| Courtney
|-
| 1965
| The Dark of the Sun
| 1960s – Congo Crisis
| –
|-
| 1966
| The Sound of Thunder
| 1899–1906 – Second Boer War
| Courtney
|-
| 1968
| Shout at the Devil
| 1913–15 – World War I
| –
|-
| 1970
| Gold Mine
| 1960s
| –
|-
| 1971
| The Diamond Hunters
| Late 1960s
| –
|-
| 1972
| The Sunbird
| Modern times/ancient times
| –
|-
| 1974
| Eagle in the Sky
| Modern times
| –
|-
| 1975
| The Eye of the Tiger
| Modern times
| –
|-
| 1976
| Cry Wolf
| 1935 – Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Second Italo-Abyssinian War
| –
|-
| 1977
| A Sparrow Falls
| 1918–1925 – World War I, Rand Rebellion
| Courtney
|-
| 1978
| Hungry as the Sea
| Modern times
| –
|-
| 1979
| Wild Justice (known as The Delta Decision in the U.S.)
| Modern times
| –
|-
| 1980
| A Falcon Flies
| 1860s – white settlement of Rhodesia
| Ballantyne
|-
| 1981
| Men of Men
| 1870s–1890s – First Matabele War
| Ballantyne
|-
| 1982
| The Angels Weep
| 1st part 1890s – Second Matabele War<br>2nd part 1977 – Rhodesian Bush War
| Ballantyne
|-
| 1984
| The Leopard Hunts in Darkness
| 1980s – newly independent Zimbabwe
| Ballantyne
|-
| 1985
| The Burning Shore
| 1917–1920 – World War I
| Courtney
|-
| 1986
| Power of the Sword
| 1931–1948 – World War II
| Courtney
|-
| 1987
| Rage
| 1950s and 1960s – Sharpeville massacre
| Courtney
|-
| 1989
| A Time to Die
| 1987 – Mozambican Civil War
| Courtney
|-
| 1990
| Golden Fox
| 1969–1979 – South African Border War, Cuban intervention in Angola
| 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 – Siege of Khartoum
| Courtney & Ballantyne
|-
| 2007
| The Quest
| Ancient Egypt
| Egyptian
|-
| 2009
| Assegai
| 1906–1918
| Courtney
|-
| 2011
| Those in Peril
| Modern times
| Hector Cross
|-
| 2013
| Vicious Circle
| modern times
| Hector Cross
|-
| 2014
| Desert God
| Ancient Egypt
| Egyptian
|-
| 2015
| Golden Lion
| 1670s, East Africa (with Giles Kristian)
| Courtney
|-
| 2016
| Pharaoh
| Ancient Egypt
| Egyptian
|-
| 2016
| Predator
| Modern times (with Tom Cain)
| Hector Cross
|-
| 2017
| The Tiger's Prey
| 1700s (with Tom Harper)
| Courtney
|-
| 2017
| War Cry
| 1918–1939 (with David Churchill)
| Courtney
|-
| 2018
| On Leopard Rock
| Autobiography
| –
|-
| 2018
| Courtney's War
| 1939–1945 WWII (with David Churchill)
| Courtney
|-
| 2019
| King of Kings
| 1880–1890s (with Imogen Robertson)
| Courtney & Ballantyne
References
Further reading
External links
- Popularising Late-Apartheid South Africa – An Interview with Wilbur Smith Conducted by John A. Stotesbury in January 1996.