I go on a hunting safari at least once a year to Botswana, which is fantastic because we have a huge area of wilderness entirely to ourselves. My island covers roughly 55 acres, which again I have to myself, with nearly half a kilometre of private beach with my own jetties and boats. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
I’m a feminist. The women in my books in recent years have been powerful characters and I love to see a woman with a cute bottom walking past. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
Cape Town’s beaches are superb and while the water on the Atlantic side is damn cold, it’s very pleasant on the other side. Bring your golf clubs if you play – Cape Town has some fabulous golf courses. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
The whole structure of African government, as far back as we know, was based on tyranny. One guy ran the show. Chiefs like Chaka and Mzilikazi committed terrible atrocities. That is the tradition from which modern African rulers spring. It won’t change easily overnight. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
At the age of 12 I won the school prize for Best English Essay. The prize was a copy of Somerset Maugham’s ‘Introduction To Modern English And American Literature.’ To this day I keep it on the shelf between my collection of Forester’s works and the little urn that contains my mother’s ashes. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
I write my books in my head, and not in a specific study with a view. The view is from my inner eyes. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
You know that feeling when you finish a final exam and you think, ‘I never want to do that again’? Well I have the same feeling when I finish a novel. Each time I say, ‘I think I may retire now’ and then after six months the ideas start to churn again. I could never stop. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
I read all of Rider Haggard’s books. For me he had the romance of Africa with a little bit of mysticism. I’m delighted to be looked on as his heir and be categorised as an adventure novelist because that’s exactly what I am. Wilbur Smith Read Quote
