FAQ
Allan Pengelly
the Wright brothers (aviation pioneers).
BORN: January 9th., 1933. Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). At
eighteen months, Wilbur suffered cerebral malaria and was not expected to
live, or be brain damaged if he survived. Father: Herbert James Smith, a
stern man who had never read a book in his life, and when learning of
his son's literary ambitions, told him: "Don't be a bloody fool. Get a real
job". However, Herbert instilled in Wilbur a work ethic and love of the land
and its people which he was to draw upon in later life for not only his own
values, but those of many of his characters. Mother: Elfreda (nee Lawrence),
who conversely was an avid reader and fed her son's appetite for adventure
stories, particularly those based upon real-life events dealing with the
history and social changes of South Africa and Rhodesia.Wilbur was to
dedicate his first published novel to his parents.
MARITAL STATUS: 1st. Wife (Jewell Sabbert) married August 28th. 1964. 2nd.
Wife (Anne), who Wilbur has avoided talking about (although she is the
mother of his two children) except to describe her once as "someone whose
name I don't remember" and about whom little is known at this stage. They
were divorced in 1971, the same year that he married Danielle. Draw your own
conclusions.Wilbur has described his first two marriages and his early days
as an accountant as : "The lowest point of my life", but it was while
escaping from that reality he started to write in the evenings after work.
He called his first book "The Gods First Make Mad" but it was never
published, and if Wilbur has his way never will be. He then achieved success
with "When The Lion Feeds", published in 1964. 3rd. Wife (Danielle
Antoinette (Dee-Dee) Thomas) married February 1971. Wilbur has dedicated 22
of his novels (up until "Monsoon") to Danielle, who was to become an author
in her own right (her first book was "Children Of The Darkness" published in
1990). However, Danielle was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1993 which was
to finally claim her life on 29th. December, 1999. Due to her illness and
the treatment of it, Danielle underwent a complete personality change, and
went from being Wilbur's greatest friend, critic, researcher and inspiration
to a stranger who resented his success. Although Wilbur became estranged
from Danielle during the last year of her life while she was in a coma, he
was holding her hand when she died. 4th. wife Mokhiniso (Niso) Rakhimova, to
whom Wilbur has dedicated his latest novels (Warlock, Blue Horizon). She is
a Muslim originally from Tajikistan and thirty-eight years Wilbur's junior.
They met at a London bookstore and were married at a Cape Town registry
office in May, 2000. Although originally she did not speak much English and
is relying on Wilbur to teach her the language, she did inspire him to start
writing again, which we naturally hope will continue.
CHILDREN: One daughter (Christian) b.1967, one son (Shaun) b.1968.
Although Wilbur and his children have been estranged for many years (he once
described them as "biological freaks" and "Birds of Prey" as he felt that
they were only interested in inheriting his wealth), since his marriage to
Mokhiniso he has expressed a desire to heal the rift and attempt a
reconciliation. One stepson (Dieter Kurt Thomas Schmidt) from Danielle's
first marriage. Wilbur once described Dieter (Dee) as "The light of my life"
as apparently more than Shaun and Christian, he shared Wilbur's passion for
hunting, fishing and animal conservation, which may go some further way to
explaining the resentment his own children currently have toward him.
However, even Dieter has recently turned against Wilbur, accusing him of
using a false name to hide his and his mother's assets.
NOTE: The only "official" biography published about Wilbur is in the series,
"Contemporary Authors", (New Revision Series, Volume 66) and is not very
accurate (unless it has been updated recenty). There is no mention of Anne,
nor any distinction that Dieter is his stepson. As he is reluctant to talk
about his personal life on the rare occasions that he has been interviewed
by the Press (Wilbur even had a "minder" standing by during some of his
interviews to make sure that the questions did not get too personal), I am
currently relying on the participants here and what we can learn through the
Internet to keep the information in this FAQ as accurate as possible.
EDUCATION: Rhodes (Michaelhouse) and Natal Universities, graduated Bachelor
of Commerce 1954.
OCCUPATION: Wilbur's own early desire was to be a journalist and chronicle
what he could see as the changing social status within South Africa and
Rhodesia. But he bowed to his father's wishes and became an accountant,
working for the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co. Port Elizabeth, South Africa
(1954-1958), then with his father as H.J. Smith and Son, Salisbury, Rhodesia
(1958-1963). Full-time author (1964-Present).
ADDRESS: Sunbird Hill, 34 Klaasens Road, Constantia 7800, South Africa.
Wilbur also has homes in London and the Seychelles, and has recently
purchased a flat in Moscow to stay with Mokhiniso when they wish to visit
her family .
EMAIL: While Wilbur does have an email address, it has never been made
public. However, one of his publishers does maintain an address for fan
mail, and while it would be expected that the messages would be forwarded to
Wilbur, there is no guarantee that he would ever read them. Fan mail should
be sent to Wilbur Smith, wilbur...@stmartins.com
INTERESTS: Member of Chartered Institute of Secretaries, South African
Wildlife Society (trustee). Member of Friends Of Conservation (trustee).
Member of Rhodesian Wildlife Conservation Association. Member of British Sub
Aqua Club. Wilbur spends time in between novels big-game fishing in New
Zealand, Australia and South America, traveling throughout Africa
researching his books, and the rest of the world promoting his interest in
animal conservation. He has turned his own 60,000 acre ranch (which
originally belonged to Cecil Rhodes) into a reserve dedicated to preserving
the endangered species within Africa. However, he has recently expressed a
desire to sell the ranch and settle down with Mokhiniso in the city.
NOTE: I am sure that any fan of Wilbur Smith will be aware that Rhodesia is
now Zimbabwe. I am only referring to it as Rhodesia for the sake of
historical context.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
www.wilbursmith.net (Official Web Site)
www.wilbursmith.it (Italian Web Site)
http://digilander.iol.it/bleis/ (Italian Fansite with English Translation)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/eric_herni/smith.htm (Dutch
Fansite)
http://www.wilbur-smith.de (German Fansite)
http://andremes.tripod.com/wilbursmith/frames.htm (Fansite)
http://members.tripod.com/~rollindice/nswilbur.html (Fansite)
http://www.outthere.co.za/97/1103/profoct.html (Interview with Jonah Hull)
www.cobweb.com.au/~rastous/wilbur.htm (Interview with Stuart Beaton)
www.theage.com.au/books/2001/04/09/FFXXAYU3BLC.html (Interview with
Elizabeth Grice)
http://www.geographical.co.uk/expeditions_travel/explorers/wilbur_smith.html
(Interview with Geographical Magazine)
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/feature/4893/102-6743792-9296958
(Interview with U.K. Branch of Amazon)
http://www.geocities.com/sriramna/Wilbur_Smith_Interview.html
(Interview with Dr. John A. Stotesbury)
http://www.geocities.com/sriramna/SundayExpress.html
(Uncredited article in Sunday Express)
www.smh.com.au/news/0104/28/features/features1.html (Article by Keith
Austin)
www.smh.com.au/news/0104/01/entertainment/entertain1.html (Article by
Elizabeth Grice)
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2001/03/25/news/news15.htm
(Article by Gwen Gill)
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2001/04/01/arts/ane04.htm
(Article by Bonny Shoonakker)
http://www.suntimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/newsst/newsst1013162543.asp
(Uncredited article in the South African Sunday Times)
www.booksontape.com/search.cfm?author=467 (Books by Wilbur Smith on audio
tape)
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Smith,+Wilbur (Internet Movie Database for movies
based on Wilbur's novels)
NOTE: At the time of this post, all the links have been checked but if they
are broken in future I would appreciate it if you let me know. Naturally I
am also interested in any that can be added to this section, as well as any
corrections and/or updated information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY...
THE COURTNEYS:
When The Lion Feeds (1964)
The Sound Of Thunder (1966)
A Sparrow Falls (1977)
Birds Of Prey (1997)
Monsoon (1999)
Blue Horizon (2003)
THE COURTNEYS OF AFRICA:
The Burning Shore (1985)
Power Of The Sword (1986)
Rage (1987)
A Time To Die (1990)
Golden Fox (1990)
THE BALLANTYNES OF RHODESIA:
A Falcon Flies...Also Published As: Flight Of The Falcon (1980)
Men Of Men (1981)
The Angels Weep (1982)
The Leopard Hunts In Darkness (1984)
TAITA OF EGYPT:
River God (1993)
The Seventh Scroll (1995)
Warlock (2001)
OTHER NOVELS:
The Dark Of The Sun...Also Published as: The Train From Katanga (1965)
Shout At The Devil (1968)
Gold Mine...Also Published As: Gold (1970)
The Diamond Hunters (1971)
The Sunbird (1972)
Eagle In The Sky (1974)
The Eye Of The Tiger (1975)
Cry Wolf (1977)
Hungry As The Sea (1979)
Wild Justice...Also Published as: The Delta Decision (1979)
Elephant Song (1991)
BOOKS TO MOVIES:
The Dark Of The Sun...Also released as The Mercenaries (1968)
Gold...Based on Gold Mine (1974)
The Kingfisher Caper...Based On The Diamond Hunters
(Afrikaans...English Video Title: Diamond Lust (1975)
Shout At The Devil (1976)
The Burning Shore...Tele-movie (German, 1991)
Mountain Of Diamonds...based on The Diamond Hunters (1991)
Wild Justice (AKA Covert Assasin)...Tele-movie: Released On Video (1993)
The Seventh Scroll...Tele-movie: (Italian, 2000)
Diamond Hunters...Tele-Movie (2001)
Allan