14 Facts About Bryce Courtenay

Arthur Bryce Courtenay, was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist.

Bryce Courtenay is one of Australia's best-selling authors, particularly notable for his book The Power of One.

Arthur Bryce Courtenay was born in the Lebombo Mountains in what was then the Union of South Africa, the son of Maude Greer and Arthur Ryder.

Bryce Courtenay spent most of his early years in a small village in the Lebombo Mountains in the Limpopo province.

Bryce Courtenay later attended King Edward VII School in Johannesburg.

In 1955, while studying journalism in London, Bryce Courtenay met Benita Solomon.

Bryce Courtenay's award-winning campaigns included the original Milkybar Kid commercial.

Benita Bryce Courtenay died on 11 March 2007, at the age of 72, four months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Bryce Courtenay later lived in Canberra with his second wife, Christine Gee.

Bryce Courtenay's novels are primarily set in South Africa, the country of his birth, or Australia, his adopted country.

Bryce Courtenay built up this success over the long term by promoting himself and developing a relationship with readers as much as marketing his books; for instance, he gave away up to 2,500 books free each year to readers he met in the street.

Bryce Courtenay had a very strong work ethic, often writing 12 hours a day, and he normally wrote a book each year during his writing career.

Bryce Courtenay turned to writing in the late 1980s after a 30-year career in advertising.

In September 2012, Bryce Courtenay announced that he was suffering from terminal gastric cancer and that his last book would be Jack of Diamonds.