John Gordon Davis - Knowledge

209:, whom he knew from their time at Rhodes University. Gordon Davis said he had just come back from Canada, where he had gone looking for adventure without finding it. Smith told him he was living off the royalties of his recent first novel, which had been published in 1964. Gordon Davis, who had believed that no one, especially in Africa, could make a living out of writing, was inspired by Smith's success to try his hand at it. According to Smith in his 2018 memoir 328:(1972) about the capture and transport of wild rhinos to a Rhodesian game reserve to protect them from poachers; a rescue operation that Gordon Davis was involved with. He and Rosemary divided their time between Spain and travelling, sailing around most of the world in a succession of yachts. From his home, after retiring from publishing novels, Gordon Davis taught a residential course in fiction writing for aspiring as well as published authors. 307:(1990). On this, Gordon Davis observed: "By instinct, I'm a “cause” writer — whether it's whales, zoos or South Africa — I would like to send a message or enlighten people. But I have to be cautious; most people want to read a yarn. I'm in the entertainment business, and that involves telling a good tale." 173:

Gordon Davis travelled widely as a graduate, at times accompanied by his then girlfriend Patti Dougherty. He travelled around the Americas, worked for a spell at a gold mine in Northern Canada, practised law in Toronto and hitch-hiked and drove around the United States. He also worked as a steward on

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as Mahoney. Following the success of his debut novel, Gordon Davis resigned as Crown Counsel and turned to full-time writing. His novels tend to be populated by boisterous, hard-living, larger-than-life characters with a taste for adventure and a penchant for hedonism. Typically cut from such cloth,

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the protagonist is faced with a social wrong and becomes involved in attempts to right it. Often, the protagonist also has an intellectual, melancholy side, a cynical view of society and an affinity with the underdog. Several novels address a specific social or ethical issue, such as whaling in

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in the Eastern Highlands while on three months' unpaid leave. Published by Michael Joseph Ltd. in the United Kingdom, the book became an instant bestseller, selling millions of copies around the world. The story places fictional characters against the historical backdrop of Rhodesia from the

324:, a town near the coast in Andalusia, and had the property restored. He and Patzi separated in 1976, and in 1978 he married Rosemary, who was from Australia. Through the '70s, '80s and '90s he wrote thirteen more published novels. In addition, he wrote the non-fiction account 315:

Gordon Davis met his first wife, Patzi, in Hong Kong; they married in or before 1973. In that year, finding Hong Kong to be too expensive and not wanting to live in war-torn Rhodesia or apartheid South Africa, Gordon Davis moved to Spain with his wife. He bought a

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in 1964. The protagonist, Joseph Mahoney, is a Rhodesian-born, British-descended Native Commissioner who is studying law while working on a novel and having an off-and-on relationship with a young Afrikaans woman, Suzie de Villiers. Mahoney considers his

358:. The latter wrote: 'This is the best novel coming out of Africa that I have read for a number of years. It is seldom that one gets a book of this kind that is both moving emotionally and full of adventure.' 276:

was published in six languages. The South African censor banned the novel citing its sexual content; the ban was eventually lifted in 1983. The novel was later adapted to film as

213:, Gordon Davis said: "Jesus, if an arsehole like you can publish a book, imagine what I could do." Smith replied: "Well, Gordon Davis, don't tell me about it, go and do it." 270:

adjutant Samson Ndhlovu to be a good friend, but their bond is straining under the clamour for Black self-government, which threatens to plunge the country into civil war.

478:, non-fiction account, set in Rhodesia, of the capture of wild black rhinos and their transport to the Gonarezhou game reserve to protect them from poachers 186:. Whilst working as a clerk for the chief justice back in Rhodesia and going on circuit with him, Gordon Davis obtained a bachelor's degree in Law from the 191: 1089: 1094: 1124: 331:

Gordon Davis died in November 2014 and was survived by his wife. In 2018, South African publisher the Footprint Press published

190:. He was called to the bar, working as assistant public prosecutor in the Magistrate's Courts in the years ahead of Rhodesia's 920: 434:, non-fiction book of colour photographs of Hong Kong by Ted Smart and Pat Fok, with accompanying text by John Gordon Davis 648:, novel about a worldwide conspiracy that goes to the top of seemingly respectable governments and religious institutions 154:

in Grahamstown. While a student, he joined the Seaman's Union. He paid his tuition fees by working as a deckhand in the

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in Cape Town, matriculated at Umtata High School in the Transkei and obtained a BA in Political Science from

1109: 600:, novel set in the United States about a clandestine plot to release circus and zoo animals into the wild 241:(1997), as well as inspiring a non-fiction book of photographs for which he wrote the accompanying text, 1104: 187: 405: 277: 225:

in 1966, Gordon Davis worked there as Crown Counsel during the political and social upheaval of the

522:, novel about an elephant hunter and his confrontation with a fearsome elephant known as Dhlulamiti 162:

fleet in the Antarctic. His experiences at sea later served as inspiration for his whaling novels

787: 267: 252:(1967). Gordon Davis had written the manuscript in Rhodesia, finishing it in a rented cottage in 876: 626:, has moved to England and builds a plane with the intention to revolutionise commercial flying 500:, novel set in Hong Kong, charting the political tensions between British rule and communism 142:), to John Gordon-Davis and Iris Tilly. His father, the local bank manager, had grown up in 1084: 1079: 287: 146:, South Africa, where his own father was at one time mayor. John Junior went to school at 8: 226: 858: 881: 723: 336: 262: 403:, novel set in Rhodesia in the lead-up to the Bush War; adapted as a 1988 film titled 1012: 986: 916: 755: 733: 707: 685: 663: 653: 637: 611: 589: 563: 537: 511: 489: 467: 445: 423: 392: 175: 151: 115: 111: 44: 364:

described Gordon Davis as being 'in the top echelon of international storytellers'.

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heritage, Gordon Davis was born in the town of Enkeldoorn in Southern Rhodesia (now

351: 253: 147: 548:, novel about a film-maker who sets out to save whales by sabotaging whaling ships 835: 696:, novel about a woman living alone on an isolated farm in the Australian outback 579: 553: 527: 1073: 355: 195: 283: 206: 158:

for two years, sailing around much of the world, and by joining the Dutch

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After an initial novel was rejected, his first novel to be published was

179: 1047: 674:, novel about a neo-Nazi plot in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) 258: 828:"John Gordon Davis: Rhodesian-born author of 'Hold My Hand I'm Dying'" 360: 229:

in nearby China. The city provided him with a setting for the novels

222: 143: 375:(1982) as 'nother loud, ineffectual Message novel' by Gordon Davis. 216: 139: 766:, novel around South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission 183: 159: 321: 335:

by David Hilton-Barber, with a foreword by Australian novelist

202: 135: 40: 574:, novel about the Triads secret criminal society in Hong Kong 317: 131: 205:, Gordon Davis had a chance encounter with adventure writer 744:, novel set in Hong Kong in the last year of British rule 718:, novel; a political epic set in apartheid South Africa 118:. The worldwide success of his first published novel, 968: