Wilbur Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wilbur Smith
Born	(1933-01-09)9 January 1933 Ndola, Northern Rhodesia
Died	13 November 2021(2021-11-13) (aged 88) Cape Town, South Africa
Occupation	Novelist
Genre	Nature, adventure
Notable works	When the Lion Feeds The Dark of the Sun Shout at the Devil The Sunbird Eagle in the Sky
Spouse	Anne Rennie (1957–1962) Jewell Slabbart (1964 – unknown date) Danielle Thomas (1971–1999) Mokhiniso Rakhimova (2000–2021)
Children	Shaun Christian Lawrence

Wilbur Addison Smith (born January 9, 1933 – died November 13, 2021) was a famous writer. He was born in Zambia and later became British-South African. He wrote exciting historical stories, mostly about Southern Africa over many centuries.

Wilbur Smith first trained as an accountant. But his first book, When the Lion Feeds, was so popular that it got a movie deal! This made him decide to become a full-time writer. He wrote three long series of books about South Africa, and they all became best-sellers. His publisher told him to "write about what you know best." So, his books are full of real details about hunting and mining life, along with adventure and romance.

By the time he passed away in 2021, he had written 49 books. He sold over 140 million copies around the world!

Early Life and Adventures

Wilbur Smith was born in Ndola, which was then called Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). His younger sister, Adrienne, was also born there. He was named after Wilbur Wright, a famous aviator.

His father, Herbert, was a metal worker. He later started a cattle ranch of about 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) near the Kafue River. Wilbur said his father was a "tough man" who loved working with his hands, boxing, and hunting. He didn't read much.

When he was a baby, Wilbur got very sick with cerebral malaria but got better. He spent his early years on the ranch with his sister and the sons of the ranch workers. They explored the bush, hiked, hunted, and trapped small animals. His mother loved books and read to him every night. She gave him exciting adventure novels, which made him love stories. However, his father didn't want him to be a writer.

School Days

Wilbur went to boarding school at Cordwalles Preparatory School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He loved reading there. His English teacher became his mentor and talked to him about the books he read. This teacher told Wilbur that being a bookworm was good and that his writing showed great promise. He taught Wilbur how to make stories exciting, create good characters, and keep the plot moving.

For high school, Wilbur went to Michaelhouse, another boarding school. He felt he didn't quite fit in with the other students. But he started a school newspaper and wrote almost everything in it himself! His funny weekly column became quite popular.

Becoming an Accountant

Wilbur wanted to be a journalist and write about social issues in South Africa. But his father told him to "get a real job." So, he decided to become a tax accountant.

He studied at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, and finished his degree in 1954. During his university breaks, he worked in gold mines. One year, he even worked on a fishing boat and a whaling ship, though he only lasted four weeks on the whaling ship!

After university, he worked for Goodyear Tires. Later, his parents had some financial problems, so his father started a metal manufacturing business with Wilbur. But this business also struggled. So, in 1963, Wilbur took a job as a tax assessor.

Wilbur Smith: The Novelist

First Steps in Writing

Working as a tax assessor gave Wilbur lots of free time in the evenings and plenty of paper and pens. He went back to his love of writing. He sold his first short story, "On Flinder’s Face," to Argosy magazine in 1963 for £70, which was twice his monthly salary!

After selling a few more stories, he wrote his first novel, The Gods First Make Mad. But by 1962, it had been rejected 20 times. Wilbur realized it was too long, not well written, had too many characters, and tried to talk about too many things at once.

He felt discouraged and went back to his accounting job. But when he was 27, his agent in London, Ursula Williams, sent him a telegram asking about his new novel. This encouraged him, and he felt the strong urge to write again.

When the Lion Feeds

His next book, When the Lion Feeds, tells the story of two young twin brothers, Sean and Garrick Courtney. The Courtney family name was a tribute to Wilbur's grandfather, Courtney Smith. His grandfather had been a transport rider during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and had fought in the Anglo-Zulu War. He was also a big game hunter and a great storyteller, which inspired Wilbur.

Wilbur's agent in London, Ursula Winant, showed the book to Charles Pick, a director at William Heinemann. She asked for an advance payment of £500 and for 5,000 copies to be printed before Christmas. Charles Pick was very impressed after reading the first chapter. He offered an advance of £1,000 and planned to print 10,000 copies. By the time the book was published, they had increased the print run to 20,000!

The book became a huge success around the world. It was even banned in South Africa for a while. This success allowed Wilbur to quit his job and become a full-time writer. Charles Pick became his mentor. He gave Wilbur advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best." He also said, "Don't talk about your books with anybody... until they are written." Wilbur believed that "until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind."

In 2012, Wilbur said When the Lion Feeds was still his favorite book because it was his first published one. The movie rights were bought, but no movie was made. However, the money meant Wilbur didn't have to work for two years. He rented a caravan, parked it in the mountains, and wrote his second book.

More Popular Novels

Wilbur Smith's second published novel was The Dark of the Sun (1965). It was an adventure story about mercenaries during the Congo Crisis. This book was made into a movie in 1968, starring Rod Taylor.

He didn't plan for the Courtney family to be a series at first. But he brought them back for The Sound of Thunder (1966), continuing their story after the Second Boer War. While writing this book, there was political unrest in Rhodesia. Wilbur moved to South Africa for safety and continued writing.

Shout at the Devil (1968) was a World War I adventure story that was made into a movie in 1976. Then came Gold Mine (1970), an adventure about the gold mining industry in South Africa. The Diamond Hunters (1971) was set in West Africa and was also made into a movie.

Wilbur also wrote The Sunbird (1972), which was a different kind of story for him. Other books like Eagle in the Sky (1974) and The Eye of the Tiger (1975) followed. His books Gold and Shout at the Devil were made into films.

Cry Wolf (1976) was a historical novel set during Italy's invasion of Ethiopia. He then returned to the Courtney family with A Sparrow Falls (1977). Hungry as the Sea (1978) and Wild Justice (1979) were modern stories. Wild Justice was his first best-seller in the USA.

New Publishers and Co-Writers

Wilbur started a new series of historical novels about the Ballantyne family, who helped settle Rhodesia. These included A Falcon Flies (1980), Men of Men (1981), The Angels Weep (1982), and The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984).

He returned to the Courtney family with The Burning Shore (1985), which he called a "breakthrough" book. After his publisher Charles Pick retired, Wilbur asked him to become his literary agent. Pick helped Wilbur get a better contract, and he moved to Pan Macmillan publishers.

He continued the Courtney series with books like Power of the Sword (1986), Rage (1987), A Time to Die (1989), and Golden Fox (1990).

Then he started a new series set in Ancient Egypt: River God (1993) and The Seventh Scroll (1995). He went back to the Courtneys for Birds of Prey (1997) and Monsoon (1999). Another Ancient Egyptian story, Warlock (2001), followed.

Later Courtney books included Blue Horizon (2003) and The Triumph of the Sun (2005), where the Courtneys meet the Ballantynes. He also wrote more Ancient Egypt books like The Quest (2007) and Desert God (2014).

In 2012, Wilbur Smith moved to HarperCollins publishers. He announced that he would start writing some novels with co-writers. This was so his fans could read his stories faster! The first co-written book was Golden Lion (2015). He also wrote books for young readers with Chris Wakling, called Cloudburst and Thunderbolt.

In 2017, he moved to Bonnier Zaffre and continued to work with co-authors. In 2018, he published his autobiography, On Leopard Rock, which tells his life story.

Awards and Recognition

In 2002, Wilbur Smith received the first Sport Shooting Ambassador Award. This award recognized his work related to sport shooting activities.

Personal Life

Wilbur Smith was married four times. His first marriage was to Anne Rennie in 1957. They had two children, a son named Shaun and a daughter named Christian. This marriage ended in 1962.

He married his second wife, Jewell Slabbart, in 1964. They had a son named Lawrence. This marriage also ended.

In 1971, he married Danielle Thomas. She had read all his books and loved them. He dedicated his books to her until she passed away from brain cancer in 1999.

He met his fourth wife, Mokhiniso Rakhimova, in a bookstore in London in 2000. She was from Tajikistan and was much younger than him. They fell in love and married in Cape Town in May 2000. Wilbur said, "It really was love at first sight."

Wilbur Smith loved to fly. His father had owned a plane, and Wilbur got his own pilot's license in the 1960s. This allowed him to fly all over Africa. However, he stopped flying in 1974 after a bad experience. He owned homes in London, Cape Town, Switzerland, and Malta. He also bought land in the Seychelles islands in 1989 and developed it before selling it in 2001.

Passing Away

Wilbur Smith passed away peacefully at his home in Cape Town on November 13, 2021, at the age of 88. His website announced that he left behind "a treasure-trove of novels, as well as completed and yet to be published co-authored books and outlines for future stories."

The Courtney Series

The Courtney series tells the stories of the Courtney family over many years. The books are set in different time periods, from the 1660s to the late 1900s.

Here are some of the books in the series, listed by when they were published:

• Birds of Prey (1997) - set in the 1660s
• Golden Lion (2015) - set in the 1670s (with Giles Kristian)
• Monsoon (1999) - set in the 1690s
• The Tiger's Prey (2017) - set in the 1700s (with Tom Harper)
• Blue Horizon (2003) - set in the 1730s
• Ghost Fire (2019) - set in 1754 (with Tom Harper)
• Storm Tide (2022) - set in 1774 (with Tom Harper)
• When the Lion Feeds (1964) - set from the 1860s to 1890s
• The Triumph of the Sun (2005) - set in the 1880s (Courtney and Ballantyne families meet)
• King of Kings (2019) - set in 1887 (with Imogen Robertson) (Courtney and Ballantyne)
• The Sound of Thunder (1966) - set from 1899 to 1906
• Assegai (2009) - set from 1906 to 1918
• The Burning Shore (1985) - set from 1917 to 1920
• War Cry (2017) - set from 1918 to 1939 (with David Churchill)
• A Sparrow Falls (1977) - set from 1918 to 1925
• Power of the Sword (1986) - set from 1931 to 1948
• Courtney's War (2018) - set in 1939 (with David Churchill)
• Rage (1987) - set in the 1950s and 1960s
• Legacy of War (2021) - set after World War II (with David Churchill)
• Golden Fox (1990) - set from 1969 to 1979
• A Time to Die (1989) - set in 1987

The Ballantyne Series

The Ballantyne Novels tell the story of the Ballantyne family. Their adventures take place from the 1860s to the 1980s, often against the backdrop of Rhodesia's (now Zimbabwe) history. One book even combines the Ballantyne story with the Courtney family saga.

Here are the books in this series by the time period they are set in:

• A Falcon Flies (1980) - set in 1860
• Men of Men (1981) - set from the 1870s to 1890s
• The Angels Weep (1982) - first part in the 1890s, second part in 1977
• The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984) - set in the 1980s
• The Triumph of the Sun (2005) - set in 1884
• King of Kings (2019) - set in 1887 (with Imogen Robertson)
• Call of the Raven (2020) - set in the early 1800s (with Corban Addison)

The Ancient Egypt Series

This series of historical fiction books is mostly about Pharaoh Memnon and his mother Lostris. The stories are told through the eyes of Taita, his mother's slave. They also include parts about the Hyksos people and how they were eventually overthrown.

• 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)
• The Seventh Scroll is set in modern times but connects to the other books through old discoveries.

What Inspired Wilbur Smith

As a child, Wilbur Smith loved reading Biggles books and Just William. He also admired writers like John Buchan, C. S. Forester, and H. Rider Haggard. Other authors he liked included Lawrence Durrell, Robert Graves, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck.

Wilbur Smith once said, "I always think I am from the 17th century." He wasn't very interested in modern technology. He preferred to take his time and enjoy life.

Movies Based on His Books

Many of Wilbur Smith's novels have been made into movies and TV shows:

• The Dark of the Sun (1965) became the movie The Mercenaries (1968).
• Gold Mine (1970) became the movie Gold (1974).
• The Diamond Hunters (1971) became the movie The Kingfisher Caper (1975) and a TV series called The Diamond Hunters (2001).
• Shout at the Devil (1968) became the movie Shout at the Devil (1976).
• Wild Justice (1979) was filmed as Wild Justice and released on video as Covert Assassin (1993).
• The Burning Shore (1985) became the movie Burning Shore (1991).
• River God (1993) and The Seventh Scroll (1995) became the TV miniseries The Seventh Scroll (1999).

Wilbur Smith said that at first, he didn't have much say in how his books were turned into movies. But later, he made sure that producers and directors used his own screenplays. This helped make sure the movies stayed true to his stories.

Images for kids

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  Wilbur Smith, a famous author.

See also

In Spanish: Wilbur Smith para niños