It stands as the single most important novel in South African literature. It was during this time that he unexpectedly wrote his first published novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. He worked at Diepkloof for ten years, and at the end of it Paton felt so strongly that he needed a change, that he sold his life insurance policies to finance a prison-study trip that took him to Scandinavia, England, and the United States. He got a job as principal of Diepkloof Reformatory, a huge prison school for delinquent black boys, on the edge of Johannesburg. Paton's initial career was spent teaching in schools for the sons of rich, white South Africans, But at thirty, he suffered a severe attack of enteric fever, and in the time he had to reflect upon his life, he decided that he did not want to spend his life teaching the sons of the rich. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.Ĭontributor Bio(s): Paton, Alan: - Alan Paton, a native son of South Africa, was born in Pietermaritzburg, in the province of Natal, in 1903. Cry, the Beloved Country, is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Alan Paton's impassioned novel about a black man's country under white man's law is a work of searing beauty. 'The greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time.' - The New Republic 'A beautiful s writing is so fresh, its projection of character so immediate and full, its events so compelling, and its understanding so compassionate that to read the book is to share intimately, even to the point of catharsis, in the grave human experience.' - The New York Times An Oprah Book Club selection, Cry, the Beloved Country, was an immediate worldwide bestseller when it was published in 1948.

Reading Level: 6.2 Interest Level: Upper Grades Point Value: 14.0

Series: Oprah's Classics Book Club Selections Published to coincide with the Miramax film release in December, starring James Earl Jones and Richard Harris.Ĭlick for more in this series: Oprah's Classics Book Club Selections WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! Click here for our low price guaranteeīinding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & EditionsĪnnotation: Paton's deeply moving story of Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the backdrop of a land and people riven by racial inequality and injustice, remains the most famous and important novel in South Africa's history.

Cry the beloved country author