''The Burning Shore'' is a novel by

Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints ...

set during and after World War I. Smith called the book his "Road to Damascus" moment because it was the first time he used a female as a major character. It is one of the Courtney Novels.

Plot

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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. The ship is torpedoed by a German U-Boat and Centaine lands on the

Skeleton Coast The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San peo ...

. She attempts to make her way south to South Africa but is adopted by two San who teach her how to survive in the desert.

Background

Smith later recalled "The women in some of my books are more powerful than the male characters, and that one was the breakthrough novel, because the female lead kicked the arse of all the males in the book... I was involved at the time with a very kick-arse woman econd wife Danielle Thomasand she was fascinating, and I adapted her into the story."

1991 film adaptation

The book was adapted into a film in 1991 called Mountain of Diamonds or The Burning Shore. It was directed by

Jeannot Szwarc Jeannot Szwarc (born November 21, 1939) is a French director of film and television, known for such films as '' Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. He has also produced and written for TV. Life and c ...

. According to ''Filmink'' the project "stunk of MIPCOM (Jeannot Swarcz! Valerie Perrine! Jason Connery! Ernest Borgnine!)".

Cast

Isabelle Gélinas Isabelle Gélinas (born October 13, 1963) is a French-Canadian actress. Early life and training Isabelle Gélinas was born in Montreal, Quebec. She began her training course at the Cours Florent before joining the CNSAD where she took classe ...

as Centaine *

Derek de Lint Dick Hein "Derek" de Lint (; born 17 July 1950) is a Dutch film and television actor, known for playing the role of Derek Rayne in '' Poltergeist: The Legacy''. Life and career Dick Hein de Lint was born on 17 July 1950 in The Hague in the N ...

as Lothar de la Rey * Jason Connery as Michael Courteney * John Savage as Blaine *

Jean-Pierre Cassel Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon; 27 October 1932 – 19 April 2007) was a French actor. Early life Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite (née Fabrègue), an opera sin ...

as Louis de Thiry *

Marina Vlady Marina Vlady (born 10 May 1938) is a French actress. Biography Vlady was born in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine to White Russian immigrant parents. Her father was an opera singer and her mother was a dancer. Her sisters, now all deceased, were the ac ...

as Anna *

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

as Ernie * Frank Finlay as Garrick

References

External links

* Novels by Wilbur Smith 1985 British novels Heinemann (publisher) books Novels set during World War I {{1980s-WWI-novel-stub