Hundreds Pay Final Respects to Bryce Courtenay
Mourners gathered by the hundreds in Australia to say goodbye to author Bryce Courtnenay, who passed away in November only two weeks after the release of his final novel, Jack of Diamonds.
During his career, Courtenay sold over 20 million books. His funeral was held at St. Mark’s Church in Sydney, where 300 guests showed up – one of which was Australian PM Julia Gillard.
During the service, clips from film adaptations of his books Jessica and The Power of One were played. The order of service was made into a mock book cover.
Bryce’s publisher in Australia, Robert Sessions, had an interesting story to tell during his eulogy about when Courtenay told him about the dianosis.
“When he told me why (about his cancer), I was speechless – but he wasn’t. ‘This is a great marketing opportunity… with my help Penguin can promote this as Bryce Courtenay’s final book – we should sell twice as many as usual!'”