Alan Paton

Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African author.

Related Topics:
11 January - 1903 - 12 April - 1988 - South Africa

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He was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he studied a B.Sc. at the University of the Natal in his hometown, followed by a diploma in education.

Related Topics:
Pietermaritzburg - Natal - Maritzburg College

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After graduating, he taught at a high school in Ixopo, where he met his future wife, and then at another school back in Pietermaritzburg.

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He served as the principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory for young offenders from 1935 to 1948, where he introduced controversial reforms of a progressive slant. In 1953 he founded the South African Liberal Party. He was noted for his opposition to the Apartheid system.

Related Topics:
Diepkloof - 1935 - 1948 - 1953 - South African Liberal Party - Apartheid

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Among his works are Debbie Go Home (1961), Tales from a Troubled Land (1965) (short story collections), Cry, The Beloved Country (1948) and Too Late the Phalarope (1953). Cry, The Beloved Country has been filmed twice (in 1951 and 1995) and was the basis for the Broadway show Lost in the Stars (adaptation by Maxwell Anderson, music by Kurt Weill).

Related Topics:
1961 - 1965 - Cry, The Beloved Country - 1948 - 1953 - Film - 1951 - 1995 - Lost in the Stars - Maxwell Anderson - Kurt Weill

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