Prebble, John, 143
Publishers Weekly, ii, 243
The Quest (Smith), ii, 243–4
Rage (Smith), 195, 207–11, 213, 221–4
Rakhimova, Mokhiniso, see Smith, Niso
Rand Daily Mail, 96
Rand Easter Show, 76
Reader’s Digest, 80, 95
Redford, Robert, 254
Rhodes, Cecil, 200
Rhodes University, 71–5 passim, 82, 109, 118 (see also Smith, Wilbur: university life of)
Rhodesia, see Zimbabwe
Rhodesian Bush War, 189, 196, 202
Rhodesian Front, 83
Rhodesian Special Forces, 189
Richardson, Jerry, 211–12
The Rise of the South African Reich (Bunting), 96
River God (Smith), 239–43, 277
The Road to Wigan Pier (Orwell), 87
Robben Island, 97, 206, 208, 211
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (FDR), 182
Rowling, J. K., 313
Rugby World Cup, 218
Rumpff, F., 101
Sacks, Aaron, 135–6
Safmarine, 123
Saint Phalle, Therese de, 299
Salk, Dr Jonas, 69
Santa Lucia Mountains, 262
Sapper, Alan, 147–8
Scorsese, Martin, 146
Scott, Robert Falcon, 120
Seipei, Stompie, 212
Selous, Frederick, 7, 182
The Seventh Scroll (mini-series), 158
The Seventh Scroll (Smith), 241–2
Seychelles:
and buried treasure, 274
Cerf Island in, see main entry
as JS’s getaway, 272
Shackleton, Ernest, 120
Shakespeare, William, 71, 180, 224, 281, 312
Sharpeville, 96–7, 206, 208
“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” (Hemingway), 62
Shout at the Devil (Smith), 84, 86, 146, 159, 163
and cinema, 144, 146, 151–2, 159
Sinai Peninsular, 137
Siqele, Gladys, 213–14
Six Day War, 135, 137
Slabbert, Jewell (second wife), see Smith, Jewell
Smith, Adrienne (sister), 16, 17, 30, 161, 162
Smith, Courtney James (grandfather):
clasp knife of, 59
described, 37
elephant hunt described by, 7–8
as fountain of stories, 37–9
and hunting, 7, 38, 186–7
Natal home of, 37
rifle owned by, 6, 36–7, 190
in Witwatersrand gold rush, 6
in Zulu War, 6
Smith, Elfreda (mother):
Anglicanism of, 245
death of, 245
described, 34
and Great Zimbabwe, 161–3, 231
Herbert meets, 33
and horses, 34
Kloof move of, 68, 179
library of, 34
remains of, and those Herbert, 245–6
resilience of, 288
and school violence, 65
and watercolor painting, 34
and wonders of nature, 34
WS provides home for, 179, 205
and WS’s early reading, 21, 34, 35
and WS’s introduction to literature, 245
and WS’s school choice, 57–8
Smith, Herbert (father):
and aviation, 11
and bad calls on stock market, 179
and books, 32
boxing by, 174–6
business set up with WS by, 179
death of, 180–1
described, 31
and discipline, fairness and justice, 178
Elfreda meets, 33
first fortune made by, 29–30
at Great Zimbabwe, 160–3
as hero to WS, 12, 18
hunt preparation by, 13–14
and hunting as way of life, 35, 37
hunting licenses of, 188
idleness disdained by, 125
Kloof move of, 68, 179
knockdowns encountered by, 25
and a man’s role in society, 182
and mines’ reopening, 31
practical nature of, 12
and rampaging lions, 14–19
ranch purchased by, 31, 177
ranch sold by, 179
remains of, and those Elfreda, 245–6
Salisbury move of, 22
store chain established by, 31
stories distrusted by, 21, 32
Tiger Moth plane of, 13, 50, 132–3
and ventilation piping, 177
WS provides home for, 179, 205
WS’s abiding moment with, 181
WS’s admiration for, 11, 180
WS’s book as epitaph for, 173
and WS’s first child, 181
and WS’s first lion kill, 171
and WS’s first rifle (heirloom), 6, 36–7
and WS’s first rifle (new), 172
and WS’s first shot animal, 44
on WS’s marriages, 205
and WS’s school choice, 58
Smith, Ian, 83, 201, 204
Smith, Jewell (née Slabbert) (second wife), 205
Smith, Niso (fourth wife), 245, 282–3, 290–1, 292–3
and Ireland, 292–3
and JS’s diving, 282
and skiing, 290–1
WS meets, 279
Smith, Sandi, 264
Smith (When the Lion Feeds), BBC serializes, 95
Smith, Wilbur:
and alcohol, 74–5
becomes full-time writer, 81
birth of, 29–30
and black mamba, 43–4, 284
as British South Africa Police reserve, 202
and Cape buffalo, 52–4, 186
cerebral malaria suffered by, 29
children of, 22, 181
cigarette smoking, 67
debut novel of, see When the Lion Feeds
disfigured neighbor of, 127–30, 131–2
diving by, 267–72
diving quit by, 282
and dynamite experience, 177–9
and Eagle film script, 156–7
and early hunts, 12–19, 190 (see also Smith, Herbert: and rampaging lions)
early reading by, 32–6, 59–61, 311
early writing urges of, 21
essay form prize for, 61 (see also Smith, Wilbur: schooldays of)
father sets up business with, 179
first advance payment sent to, 80
first animal shot by, 6, 44
first divorce of, 22
first job of, 75–6
first lions killed by, 171
first new rifle owned by (new), 172
first rifle owned by (heirloom), 6, 36–7
first step into writing by, at school, 61
and fishing-boat work, 109, 111–18
flying by, 132–4, 139–41 (see also Smith, Herbert: Tiger Moth plane of)
flying quit by, 141
Ford car bought by, 73
and gambling, 75
and Gold film script, 147
income of, 174
and Ireland, 292–3
Jewell marries, 205
and lost jeep, 46–9
and love for written word, 22–3
marriage of, first, 76
marriage of, second, 95, 205
Niso marries, 281 (see also Smith, Niso)
novels of, listed in series, iii (see also individual titles)
only original film script by, 151
pilot’s license acquired by, 132
polio suffered by, 55, 69
racism abhorred by, 222
‘Racist of the Year’ award offered to, 222
Reader’s Digest prints novel of, 80, 95
and rejection letters, 22, 23, 296
rock climbing discovered by, 26
Salisbury move of, 22
school magazine begun by, 66
schooldays of, 57–69 (see also Cordwalles boarding school; Michaelhouse school)
screenplay commissioned from, 144–5
sexual awakenings of, 68, 72
sister of, see Smith, Adrienne
and skiing, 255, 290–1
Steven Lawrence pseudonym of, 25–6
tax-assessor work of, 22, 24, 174, 308
Tribune article of, 69
writing debut of, see “On Flinders’ Face”
on writing process, 306–14
Somalia, 285–7
The Sound of Thunder (Smith), 84, 118, 144, 201, 253
launched in US, 253
South Africa (see also Mandela, Nelson):
bullying in boarding schools of, 69
criminal violence in, 215
general election 1994 in, 214
glasnost’s effects on, 208–9
and Gold filming, 147–8
and ‘gravy train’, 220
and Israeli Air Force, 134
Mandela becomes president of, 209
and Rugby World Cup, 218
Sharpeville, 96–7, 206, 208
TV service introduced in, 105
WS books banned by, and appeals, see individual titles
South African Rugby Board, 218
A Sparrow Falls (Smith), banning of and appeal concerning, 104–8
Spear of the Nation, 97
Spies, Karen, 151
Springboks, 218, 221
Spud (van de Ruit), 64
St Anne’s School, 66
Stallone, Sylvester, 197
Star, 96, 106, 222, 242
Star of South Africa, 93
Steinbeck, John, 26, 226, 252, 259, 262–4, 312
Stewart, Andrew, 104
Steyn, L. C., 100–1
Steyner, Terry, 149
Strydom, Barend, 213
Summer Harvest (Swindell), 221
The Sunbird (Smith), 144, 164–7, 231, 239, 265, 285
Sunbird Hill, 167
Sunday Times, 96, 289
Sunday Tribune, 69
Swindell, Madge, 221
Table Mountain, 139, 167
Tarantino, Quentin, 146
Tass, 96
Taylor, John, 275
Taylor, Larry, 154–5
Taylor, Rod, 145, 146
Teba, 90
Tel Aviv, 135–8
Telegraph, 150
The Tempest (Shakespeare), 281
“tenderpreneurs?”, 220
Terre’Blanche, Eugene, 209
Thatcher, Margaret, 288–9
Things Fall Apart (Achebe), 313
Those in Peril (Smith), 286–90
and bestseller lists, 289
A Time to Die (Smith), 151, 188–9
Todd, James Cameron, 63
Top Gun, 133
Tortilla Flat (Steinbeck), 263
Tough Guys Don’t Dance (Mailer), 288
The Train from Katanga (Smith), see The Dark of the Sun
Trans Namib railway, 110
Trask, Cal, 264
Travels with Charley (Steinbeck), 264
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 214
Turning Wheels (Cloete), 103
Tutankhamen, 231–3, 234, 236
Ulysses, 183
uMkhonto we Sizwe, 97
USA:
WS’s love affair with, 253
WS’s visits to, 253
Valley of the Kings, 229, 236, 253
van de Ruit, John, 64
Van Zijl, Justice, 97, 98–100
Verwoerd, Hendrik, 208
Viking Press, 81
Volume 2 (Duncan), 96
Vorster, V. J., 224–5
Wall Street Journal, 150
Walpole, Mr., 175, 176
Walsh, Battleship, 175–6, 178
Walvis Bay, 110, 111, 115–17, 173
The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter (Bell), 191
Warlock (Smith), 243
Wenela, 90
Western Deep Levels Gold Mine Company, 84, 85
Whaling Company, 119
whaling-trawler work, 119–23
When the Lion Feeds (Smith), iv, 29, 55–6, 80–5, 92, 160, 172–3, 180, 188, 201, 211, 226, 233, 262, 269, 296, 312
Appellate Division finding on, 100–1
ban and appeals concerning, 95–102
and censorship relaxation, 102, 104
and cinema, 143
contract for, 105
French interest in, 299
and grandfather’s name, 38, 55
launched in US, 253
legal but pyrrhic victory, 102
money from, 81, 82–3
publisher accepts, 56
Reader’s Digest prints, 80–1, 95
reviews of, 104
and screen rights, 143
success of, 67, 80, 95
Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, iv
Wild Justice (mini-series), 158
William Heinemann, 56, 80–1, 296
and Lion contract, 103
South Africa banning, 95–6
and Sparrow ban, 104
Winant, Ursula, 24, 296–8
Winsor, Kathleen, 60
Witt, Elmo, 151
Witwatersrand gold rush, 6, 38, 42, 55, 84–5, 137, 262
Witwatersrand Native Labour Association, 90
Wolraad Woltemade, 123
World War I, 31, 103, 104, 298
World War II, 63, 126–8, 145, 236, 278
and WS’s disfigured neighbor, 127–30, 131–2
World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), 193
Wright, Orville, 11
Wright, Wilbur, 11
Wykham Collegiate, 66
Xhosa, 206
Yom Kippur, 137, 244
York, Susannah, 149, 150–1
Yosemite National Park, 260
Zambezi Valley, 12
Zambia, 29, 42, 59, 90, 219
Zimbabwe African National Union, 201
Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia):
and Bush War, 189, 196–7, 200, 202, 203, 205
death throes of, as Rhodesia, 199
formation of, after Rhodesia, 201
and Great Zimbabwe, 161–3
and independence, 83, 179, 201–2
WS books banned by, 100, 108, 205
WS’s urge to write about, 199
Zulu, 143
Zulu War, 6, 55
Zululand, 38
Zuma, Jacob, 183
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks to Kevin Ritchie for extensive sessions of memory jogging and his deep research, Robert Dinsdale for his structural ideas, and Martin Fletcher for his editorial work.
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Watch out for the brand new Courtney Series novel from the legendary Wilbur Smith
COURTNEY’S WAR
The much-anticipated sequel to the global bestseller WAR CRY
Coming September 2018