Internationally acclaimed author Wilbur Smith on Saturday died at his home in South Africa after a decades-long career in writing, his office said. He was 88.
With 49 titles under his belt, Smith became a household name, his swashbuckling adventure stories taking readers from tropical islands to the jungles of Africa and even Ancient Egypt and World War II.
“Global bestselling author Wilbur Smith died unexpectedly this afternoon at his Cape Town home after a morning of reading and writing with his wife, Niso [Mokhiniso Rakhimova], by his side,” said a statement released on the Wilbur Smith Books Web site as well as by his publishers Bonnier Books UK.
Photo: AFP
“The undisputed and inimitable master of adventure writing, Wilbur Smith’s novels have gripped readers for over half a century, selling over 140 million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages,” it said.
The statements did not reveal the cause of death.
His 1964 debut novel When the Lion Feeds, the tale of a young man growing up on a South African cattle ranch, became an instant bestseller and led to 15 sequels, tracing an ambitious family’s fortunes for more than 200 years.
Born in Zambia in 1933 to a British family, he was also a big game hunter, having grown up experiencing the forest, hills and savannah of Africa on his parents’ ranch.
He also held a pilot’s license and was a scuba diver.
As a conservationist, he managed his own game reserve and owned a tropical island in the Seychelles.
His books have been translated into about 30 languages and several made into films, including Shout at the Devil with Lee Marvin and Roger Moore in 1976.
His bestselling “Courtney Series” was the longest running in publishing history, his publisher said.
He was married four times, with his last wife, Rakhimova from Tajikistan, his junior by 39 years.
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