Global bestselling novelist Wilbur Smith dies aged 88
- The legendary author, who has 49 titles under his belt, died at his home in South Africa
- Smith’s books have been translated into around 30 languages and some made into films
Internationally acclaimed author Wilbur Smith has died in South Africa aged 88, his publisher announced on Saturday.
“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 by his side,” said a statement released on the Wilbur Smith Books website.
With 49 titles under his belt since his first novel When the Lion Feeds was published in 1964, Smith became a household name in literature.
“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,” said the statement.
His bestselling Courtney Series was the longest running in publishing history, said the statement.
It spanned generations and three centuries, “through critical periods from the dawn of colonial Africa to the American civil war, and to the apartheid era in South Africa”.