Gregory David Roberts (born Gregory John Peter Smith; 1952) is an Australian author best known for his novel '' Shantaram''. He is a former heroin addict and convicted bank robber who escaped from

Pentridge Prison HM Prison Pentridge, better known as Pentridge Prison, was an Australian prison established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first convicts arrived at the gaol in 1851. The facility closed on 1 May 1997, although some of the heritage-listed buil ...

in 1980 and fled to India, where he lived for ten years.

Life

Roberts reportedly became addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

after his marriage ended and he lost custody of his young daughter. To finance his drug habit, he turned to crime, becoming known as the "Building Society Bandit"1 June 1978
Societies' bandit: 23 years
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. Retrieved 7 April 2015. and the "Gentleman Bandit", because he only robbed institutions with adequate insurance. He wore a three-piece suit, and he always said "please" and "thank you" to the people he robbed. At the time, Roberts believed that his manner lessened the brutality of his acts but, later in his life, he admitted that people only gave him money because he had made them afraid. He escaped from Pentridge Prison in 1980.Murdoch, Lindsey (23 July 1980)
Pentridge convicts jump free
''

''Conroy, Paul (15 December 1989)
Five New Names Are Posted On State's 10 Most Wanted List
''

''. Retrieved 6 April 2015. In 1990, Roberts was captured in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, trying to smuggle himself into the country. He was

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

to Australia and served a further six years in prison, two of which were spent in solitary confinement. According to Roberts, he escaped prison again during that time but thought better of it and smuggled himself back into jail. His intention was to serve the rest of his sentence to give himself the chance to be reunited with his family. During his second stay in Australian prison, he began writing ''Shantaram''. The manuscript was destroyed twice by prison staff while Roberts was writing it.

Writing career

After leaving prison, Roberts was finally able to finish and publish his novel '' Shantaram''. The book's title comes from the name his best friend's mother gave him, which means "Man of Peace", or "Man of God's Peace". There is debate as to how much of ''Shantaram'' is based on true events or is a conflation of real life and fantasy.''Shantaram''
IndiaMike.com. Retrieved 6 April 2015. On that aspect of ''Shantaram'' and of the follow-up novel, ''The Mountain Shadow'', Roberts has stated: Roberts lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Germany, and France and finally returned to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, where he set up charitable foundations to assist the city's poor with health care coverage. He was also reunited with his daughter. He got engaged to Françoise Sturdza, who is the president of the Heart for India Foundation. Roberts also wrote the original screenplay for the movie adaptation of ''Shantaram''. In 2009, Roberts was named a Zeitz Foundation Ambassador for Community. Ambassadors help raise awareness and shape activities in their areas. In 2011, Roberts stepped aside as an ambassador due to the pressure of other commitments but continues to assist the Zeitz Foundation as a Friend. His second novel, ''The Mountain Shadow'', was released on 13 October 2015 by

Little Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. In 2022, Roberts published the nonfiction book ''The Spiritual Path''.

Music

In September 2020, Roberts released his debut single, "Drive All Night". This was followed by "Lisa Run Away". His debut album, ''Love and Faith'', was recorded in Jamaica and released in December 2020.

Bibliography

* '' Shantaram'' (2003) * '' The Mountain Shadow'' (2015) * ''The Spiritual Path'' (2022)

Notes

References

* Rule, Andrew & Silvester, John, ''Underbelly 5'' (2001),

External links

*
G. D. Roberts talks about his writing at the India Non Fiction Festival, Youtube, 51 mins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Gregory David Living people 21st-century Australian novelists Australian expatriates in India Australian expatriates in Jamaica Australian male novelists Australian memoirists Australian bank robbers Australian escapees 1952 births Escapees from Victoria (state) detention Criminals from Melbourne People extradited from Germany People extradited to Australia Australian people imprisoned abroad Writers from Melbourne 21st-century Australian male writers Convict escapees in Australia Australian people convicted of robbery 21st-century Australian memoirists