Bryce Courtenay

Bryce Courtenay was born in South Africa in 1933. His mother was a dressmaker. Both Courtenay and his elder sister Rosemary were the children of their mother’s longtime lover, Arthur Ryder, who already had a wife and children. According to Courtenay, his difficult childhood included periods in an orphanage when his mother couldn’t afford to care for him and bullying. Still, he managed to attend a prestigious secondary school in Johannesburg before going to London to study journalism. Courtenay met his wife Bonita Solomon in London, and as newlyweds the couple immigrated to Australia. Courtenay had a 30-year career in advertising before turning to writing. He published his first novel, the semi-autobiographical The Power of One, in 1989 and went on to become one of Australia’s most commercially successful and popular authors. His success may be in part thanks to his background in advertising and his commitment to establishing a relationship with his fans by doing things like handing out thousands of books to people he met on the street. Courtenay was a prolific writer, publishing 19 novels, three works of nonfiction, and one collection of poetry during his 30-year career. He died at the age of 79 from gastric cancer.