Acclaimed South African novelist Wilbur Smith has died in his home country at the age of 88, his editor announced today.
A statement posted on Wilbur Smith Books said, “Wilbur Smith, the world’s best-selling author, passed away this afternoon unexpectedly at his Cape Town home after reading and writing with his wife Niso. “
His larger novels describe adventures on the African continent, with stories often inspired by his own lives.
Smith rose to prominence with the 1964 publication of his first novel, “When Lions Eat”, the story of a young man raised on a cattle farm in South Africa, with 15 sequels in which the author tells the life of a family. is for another 200 years.
He published 49 novels edited around the world.
“In the stories I weaved pieces from the beginning of the history of Africa. I wrote about blacks and whites, I wrote about hunting and gold mining and partying and women”, he recalled in a biography published on his website.
“The undisputed and unparalleled author of adventures, Wilbur Smith’s novels have won readers’ hearts for more than half a century, selling more than 140 million copies in more than 30 languages worldwide,” the statement said.
“Smith has published in 49 novels, he has taught his readers about the gold mines of South Africa, piracy in the Indian Ocean, hidden treasures on tropical islands, conflicts in Arabia and Khartoum and ancient Egypt … merchants and hunters in the African jungles. ,” he says.
His office thanked “the millions of fans around the world who have enjoyed his wonderful writing and joined us on his wonderful adventures.”
