‘My father cheated on Mum': Adam Courtenay on his famous dad

The Age

2 days ago

This story is part of the August 3 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories.
Writer Adam Courtenay has written several books on Australian history, but his latest work, on his late father, the author Bryce Courtenay, is bound to attract attention. Here, the 61-year-old talks about the influential women in his life, and the complicated relationship he had with his dad.
My paternal grandmother, 'Paddy', was born in South Africa in 1905. She was this tiny figure who was extremely religious. For her, the Lord was the way, the only way.
Paddy was a dressmaker. She fell in love with Arthur Ryder, who worked at the same clothing store. He said he had two grown children who'd left home and was going to divorce his wife. They lived together and Paddy had my aunt, Rosemary, and my father, Bryce [Courtenay, the author] out of wedlock.
Paddy discovered Arthur had a loving wife and six children at home to whom he later returned. In those days, Paddy's unmarried status was tantamount to being a witch, so she moved frequently with her two children to reinvent herself.
My father's illegitimacy left an enormous scar – he found it shameful and didn't tell me until I was 30. I didn't care; rather, I would have liked to have known what his origins were.
My mother, Benita, was highly literate – she read three books a week. She loved art, music, black American jazz and French films. She was a progressive thinker and pro-civil rights. She loved Europe and in 1986 opened a shop in Edgecliff [Sydney] that sold imported French cookware. She had a huge influence on me in terms of culture.
My father cheated on Mum with his secretary, Celia. She was 15 years younger than Dad. I felt guilty, as I came to like Celia enormously. I was 15, from a boys' school, and very scared of women. Celia talked about sex and relationships and became a female mentor to me. She tried to instil confidence, and I was enormously grateful for that.
My mother knew about my father's numerous relationships but internalised her hurt. She wasn't shocked by the fact he was with someone else, but she was shocked when he finally left her.