“Herbert, my father, was born in Britain but went out to Africa in his teens to join his father and built up an 18,000-acre ranch in what was then Northern Rhodesia, providing work for the locals. He was my hero when I was a boy.”

Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist

Wilbur Smith was a Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist. He wrote historical fiction and became widely known for stories set around international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries. His work is associated with sweeping historical narratives that connect Southern Africa to wider world affairs. He focused on long spans of history and on the forces that shaped the region over time.