Who Is Wilbur Smith?

Wilbur Smith is a novelist. He was born and brought up in Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia) in Central Africa. His father was Cattle Rancher who taught him to hunt and his mother was a book lover who taught him to love books.

His first novel was a failure, being rejected by many publishers. His second novel however, written out of his personal experience of life on an African cattle ranch was an immediate success.

It was called "When the Lion Feeds", became a best seller and he was able to quit his job as an accountant.

His subsequent novels, all based on life in Africa were all best sellers. He has written several series:
The Courtney series follows a family from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century.
The Ballantyne series deal with the struggles of the colonial era between white and black and then the inter-tribal rivalries.
The Egyptian series is set in the ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs.