BOER BELLE describes the personal experiences of the Boer matron Elsje de Kock (1842-1940) and her remarkable family before, during and after the brutal Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902. It presents an intimate view of events and the impact of their struggle against half-a-million British troops sent to subdue them on the thousands of Afrikaner guerillas and their families engaged in a war that brought untold misery to all caught up in it. Largely overshadowed by the nightmarish conflict of the First World War that followed barely a decade later, the Boer War was characterized by the barbarity of the British concentration camp system designed to suppress all resistance from the mothers and children of the Boer soldiers in the field. Elsje's early life, her loves and her sixteen children and their descendents provide the framework on which the narrative develops. An interesting and unusual connection with Lord Frederick Roberts adds spice to this true story.