Wilbur A. Smith

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Wilbur A. Smith

Wilbur Addison Smith (born January 9, 1933 in Broken Hill , Northern Rhodesia , now Zambia ) is a British writer .

Life

He graduated from the University of Natal and Rhodes University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Commerce. In 1964 Smith married and his first novel When the Lion Feeds was published. The previously written novel The Gods first make mad remained unpublished. Since then, Smith has been working as a freelance writer who publishes two books a year, and since 1998 “only” one book a year. Critics accuse him of the fact that his books are characterized by racism , sexism and intellectual unpretentiousness. Nevertheless, over 75 million copies have been sold so far, translated into up to 26 languages ​​and some were made into films. Smith now lives in Constantia , London and the Seychelles , but travels often.

Many of his works belong to three series, named after the families that are presented in them or after the time in which the action takes place.

The sun bird

One of his best-known novels, The Sun Bird , which describes the adventurous search for Solomon's treasure as part of a large-scale archaeological expedition in the midst of armed conflicts, was imaginatively illustrated by the Italian artist Milo Manara and was published as a picture book (1992 edition). Manara's African impressions of the Ophir , the legendary place to which King Solomon owed his immeasurable treasure of gold, and the pictures of an expedition to Botswana , stand out from the text and prove the artistic versatility of the illustrator, who is best known as a comic book author. In Wilbur Smith's novel itself there is no evidence of any connection to the treasure of Solomon.

The Swedish progressive metal band Opeth named themselves after the city of Opet described in the novel.

action

The novel "The Sun Bird" tells the story of Opet, the capital of an empire founded by Phoenician settlers, which extends over large parts of South Africa . This flourishing high culture was razed to the ground in just one day in the 4th century AD. Native barbaric tribes eradicate the Opet people and erase any evidence of their achievements. Only the foundations of the big city remain in the steppe sand and, overgrown by bushes, are only visible for fleeting moments on moonlit nights. Legends and taboos forbid everyone to approach the "hills of blood". These legends prevented the rediscovery of the place until the point when an archaeologist became aware of the existence of the city through aerial photographs . Finding the city and its archives gives a detailed picture of Phoenician rule that lasted centuries:

Opet's reign ends at a time when the culture has already passed its heyday. Ironically, an escaped slave and former protégé of a high priest of Opet sealed the fate of the empire. He escaped death several times through pardons and united the indigenous tribes in an irrepressible hatred of strangers from the north and raised a huge army. He destroys the city through sheer numerical superiority and with the tactical knowledge that he has acquired from his former masters.

Works

Courtneys

  • When the Lion Feeds . 1964 German: In the embrace of the lion / The invincible
  • The Sound of Thunder . 1966 German: In the shadow of his brother / my brother's wife
  • A Sparrow Falls . 1977 German: The fall of the sparrow
  • The Burning Shore . 1985 German: glowing sky
  • Power of the Sword . 1986 German: But who sows violence
  • Rage . 1987 German: Tara
  • A time to die . 1989 German: bright moon, dark shadow
  • Golden Fox . 1990 German: In the clutches of the fox
  • Birds of Prey . 1997 German: The flight of the sea eagle
  • Monsoon . 1999 German: monsoon
  • Blue Horizon . 2003 German: Desert King
  • The Triumph of the Sun . 2005 German: The pride of the Nubian
  • Assegai . 2009

Birds of Prey, Monsoon and Blue Horizon deal with another branch of the Courtney family, the “seafaring” part (from Devon), the other books deal with the “African” branch

Ancient Egyptian / Egyptian

  • River God . 1993 German: The tomb of the Pharaoh
  • The Seventh Scroll . 1995 German: The wings of Horus
  • Warlock . 2001 German: The Sons of the Nile
  • The Quest . 2007 German: The legacy of the Magus
  • Desert God . 2014
  • Pharaoh . 2016

Ballantynes

  • A Falcon Flies aka Flight of the Falcon . 1980 German: The stone bird
  • Men of Men . 1981 German: The pride of the lion
  • The Angels Weep . 1981 German: When angels cry
  • The Leopard Hunts in Darkness . 1984 German: The panther hunts in the twilight
  • The Triumph of the Sun . 2005 so Courtneys [this novel brings the two families together]

Other works

  • The Dark of the Sun . 1965 German: Black Sun
  • Shout at the Devil . 1968 German: rivals against death and the devil
  • Gold Mine aka Gold . 1970 German: gold mine
  • The Diamond Hunters . 1971 German: diamond hunter / diamond heirs / diamond fever
  • The Sunbird . 1972 German: The sun bird
  • Eagle in the Sky . 1974 German: eagle above clouds
  • The Eye of the Tiger . 1975 German: The secret of the dawn
  • Cry Wolf . 1976 German: red sand
  • Hungry As the Sea . 1978 German: Wild as the sea
  • Wild Justice . 1979 German: Delta decision
  • Elephant Song . 1991 German: The song of the elephants
  • Those in Peril . 2011
  • Vicious Circle . 2013

Movies

(based on the novels by Wilbur Smith)

  • Katanga , 1968, based on The Dark of the Sun
  • The Last Lion , 1972
  • Gold , 1974, after Gold Mine , filmed with Roger Moore , Susannah York
  • The Kingfisher Caper , 1975, based on The Diamond Hunters
  • Roaring in the devil , in 1976, by at the Devil Shout
  • Mountain of Diamonds , 1991, after Burning Shore (also in German: glowing sky )
  • Wild Justice , 1993 and 1994, (as miniseries and film)
  • The Seventh Scroll , 1999
  • Diamond Hunters , 2001

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Beware Wilbur Smith's Gaboon Adder: Purple Prose, Propaganda, and Politics in South Africa ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lclark.edu
  2. ↑ ibid. ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lclark.edu
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Wilbur A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Wilbur Addison (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Broken Hill , Northern Rhodesia