Alan Paton, in full Alan Stewart Paton (born January 11, 1903, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa—died April 12, 1988, near Durban, Natal), South African writer, best known for his first novel, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), a passionate tale of racial injustice that brought international attention to the problem of apartheid in South Africa.Paton studied at the University of Natal (later incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-Natal) and then taught school from 1925 to 1935. In 1935 Paton left his teaching position to direct Diepkloof Reformatory for delinquent urban African boys, near Johannesburg. The success of Cry, the Beloved Country, which he wrote during his tenure at the reformatory, led him to resign his post for full-time writing. The book vividly portrays the anguish suffered by an elderly black minister who must come to terms with his faith when his son is convicted of murdering a white man. Paton wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film adaptation.
Notable Facts:
- Born in the Natal Province of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1903
- Went to college in Pietermaritzburg
- Studied Physics but spent many hours devoted to poetry
- Wrote essays for liberal South African magazines similar to his own character Arthur Jarvis, during his middle years
- Initially pursued a career in educating the rich, yet had a revelation after an enteric fever
- Received a job at Diepkloof Reformatory due to his admiration for Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr
- Transformed Diepkloof Reformatory, and remained there for ten years
- Feeling he needed a changed, Paton sold his life insurance and embarked on a journey around the world
- First began writing Cry, the Beloved Country after meeting a stranger in Norway
- Continued writing it as he traveled ( he never had it completely planned out!)
- Eventually published Cry, the Beloved Country in 1948, by Charles Scribner's Sons, in San Francisco
- This novel eventually became the highlight of Paton's career and one of South Africa's most important novels
- Paton passed away in 1988, in South Africa