The Burning Shore is a novel by Wilbur Smith set during and after World War I.

[1] Smith called the book his "Road to Damascus" moment because it was the first time he used a female as a major character.

In 1917 during World War I, South African fighter pilot Michael Courtney falls in love with Centaine, a French woman.

On their wedding day – prior to their wedding – Courtney is killed in action, and, following the destruction of her home by a German bombardment, the pregnant Centaine enrols as a nurse and embarks on a hospital ship for South Africa.

I was involved at the time with a very kick-arse woman [second wife Danielle Thomas] and she was fascinating, and I adapted her into the story".