Visel calls the novel " fictionalised history " that shadows the history of anti-apartheid activism in South Africa , from 1946 and the African Mine Workers ' Strike ( Lionel and Cathy 's marriage ) , to 1977 and the clampdown on dissidents ( Rosa 's detention ) . Other notable events include the coming to power of the National Party in 1948 ( Rosa 's year of birth ) , the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and others in 1956 , the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 , and the Soweto uprising in 1976 ( Rosa 's return to South Africa ) . Dominic Head writes in his book '' Nadine Gordimer '' that in '' Burger 's Daughter '' " the life of ... Rosa ... runs in parallel with the history of modern South Africa "
Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
Burger's Daughter