Wilbur Smith quotes

Wilbur Smith was a South African novelist renowned for his adventure novels set mainly in Africa. His bestselling books captured the continent's landscapes, history, and spirit through thrilling narratives. He became one of the world's most popular storytellers, inspiring generations of readers. Here are 41 of his quotes:

It's a strange paradox that a man gifted with too many talents can fritter them all away without developing a single one to its full.

Wilbur Smith

I think one of the most poignant things is unrequited love and loneliness.

Wilbur Smith

Quite frankly, I think political correctness is the worst form of censorship. You're not allowed to speak your mind unless you're black, or unless you're a terrorist, or unless you're an Arab or a minority people. Then you can say what you like. But if you are like a lot of us you are not supposed to say certain things.

Wilbur Smith

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

This first print run of the first edition of my first novel, 'When The Lion Feeds.' back in 1964, is so rare it can fetch several thousand pounds at auction. I always wanted to be an author, and I decided to write about what I knew.

Wilbur Smith

As regards to personal safety, you do have to be careful not to put yourself at risk when travelling in South Africa. You don't want to go out exploring at night, for example.

Wilbur Smith

My family wasn't terribly affluent and looked upon money very carefully as something that had to be saved, not spent. My father built the ducting that took air into the copper mines and made about 6 d a yard in the Thirties, which was good money back then.

Wilbur Smith

I wanted to be a great white hunter, a prospector for gold, or a slave trader. But then, when I was eight, my parents sent me to a boarding school in South Africa. It was the equivalent of a British public school with cold showers, beatings and rotten food. But what it also had was a library full of books.

Wilbur Smith

I read a lot of biographies and books with an African background.

Wilbur Smith

All my characters have got a big slice of me in them. A big piece of me, because it's my dialogue and this is the way I think and talk.

Wilbur Smith

Despite the fact that I spend a lot of time in London, Switzerland and New York, Africa is the place I know and love best, and my heart will always lie here.

Wilbur Smith

You don't turn out as many books as I did then by sitting around, being cozy with the family.

Wilbur Smith

Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your face, because it's impossible to judge what people want. And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work.

Wilbur Smith

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

Authors can only soft sell the environment. Create a wonderful story around the environment involving the characters that leaves a lasting impression on the reader's mind.

Wilbur Smith

I love the sea as much as I love the veldt of Africa.

Wilbur Smith

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

What I like about writing is the sense of godlike power it gives you.

Wilbur Smith

I am a closet birdwatcher. I can identify Southern African species, but it irks me I can barely tell a jay from a blackbird in the U.K.

Wilbur Smith

I grew up in Rhodesia on my father's ranch and every year he used to take us on safari in some remote area of the wilderness.

Wilbur Smith

I don't want children. Why should I let some strange little monster into my life to destroy what to me is a perfect set-up?

Wilbur Smith

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