Bryce Courtenay Bio

Born Arthur Bryce Courtney, and writing as Bryce Courtenay, the author was a South African-Australian advertising executive and one of Australia’s best-selling novelists.

Bryce Courtenay early years

Born in the Lebombo Mountains in South Africa, he was the illegitimate son of Maude Greer and Arthur Ryder. He spent much of his early years in a small Lebombo Mountains village (in present-day Limpopo) and attended King Edward VII School in Johannesburg.

There are mixed stories about his childhood, specifically around the time he spent in an orphanage in South Africa and gaining a scholarship. 

While studying journalism in London, he met his first wife Benita Solomon. They moved to Sydney in 1958 and were married in 1959, having three sons. 

Upon moving to Australia, Bryce Courtenay worked in the advertising industry for over 34 years, holding executive roles in McCann Erickson, J. Walter Thompson and George Patterson Advertising. He worked on high level campaigns, including the original Milky Kid ad. He also worked with Geoff Pike on developing the concept of the Cadbury Yowie chocolate. 

In April 1991, Courtney’s youngest son Damon died at the age of 24 from AIDs-related complications. He was born with haemophilia and contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. His book April Fool’s Day was written about his son. 

Bryce Courtenay divorced from Benita in 2000, and went on to live with his second wife Christine Gee. 

Bryce Courtenay’s writing 

Bryce Courtenay set his novels generally either in South Africa or Australia. The Power of One became one of Australia’s best selling books by any living author, and was made into a film, as well as having a children’s edition published. 

He would often write for 12 hours a day, and generally published a book every 2 – 3 years. His work ethic allowed him to sell more than 20 million copies of his books worldwide.

My Father Bryce – Adam Courtenay

After his death, Courtenay’s son, Adam Courtenay published a memoir about his father which discussed many of the things about his father that people believed to be true. While Adam Courtenay said that his father was a brilliant father and caring human, and that his sons adored him, he did let the fame of being a best selling author go to his head a little. He said that many of the stories his father told them as children turned out not to be true, and that Bryce Courtenay didn’t let anything get in the way of a good story. 

Adam recounts stories such as the family being related to “Crusader King” Robert de Courtenay, the claim of growing up and spending much of his childhood in an orphanage, winning a scholarship to a top school in Johannesburg, stories of his father being a lawyer fighting apartheid and a mysterious stranger who told Bryce he needed to save South Africa.

Adam writes in his book that these stories were untrue, but because they held up the story, you wanted to believe them.

Awards and honours

Bryce Courtenay won several awards throughout his career, with the notable ones being:

• Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to advertising and marketing, and to the community as an author (1995)

• Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Newcastle (2005)

• Australia Post Literary Legend and honoured on an Australia Post stamp (2010)

• Honorary Doctor of the University from the University of Canberra (2012)

Bryce Courtenay books 

The Power of One books

The Power of One (1989)

Tandia (1992)

The Potato Factory Books

The Potato Factory (1995)

Tommo and Hawk (1998)

Solomon’s Song (1999)

The Persimmon Tree books

The Persimmon Tree (2007)

Fishing for Stars (2008)

Standalone books

The Night Country (1998)

Jessica (1998)

Smoky Joe’s Cafe (2001)

Four Fires (2001)

The Family Frying Pan (2002)

Matthew Flinders’ Cat (2002)

Brother Fish (2004)

Whitethorn (2005)

Sylvia (2006)

The Story of Danny Dunn (2009)

Fortune Cookie (2010)

Jack of Diamonds (2012)

Non-Fiction books

April Fool’s Day (1993)

A Recipe for Dreaming (1998)

The Silver Moon (2014)