Cry, The Beloved Country

A work of searing beauty, Cry, the Beloved Country, is the deeply moving story of Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu pastor, and his son, Absalom. It is also the story of a land and a people riven by racial injustice, reflecting the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. Alan Paton said of his book: "It is a song of love for one's far distant country...." Thus, it is a tale that is passionately African while also being timeless and universal. But ultimately, Cry, the Beloved Country is a work of love and hope, of courage and tragedy, born of the dignity of man. Alan Paton, South African novelist and humanitarian worker, was born in 1903 in Pietermaritzburg in the province of Natal, South Africa. After attending Pietermaritzburg College and Natal University, he taught school for three years in the rural village of Ixopo, the setting for Cry, the Beloved Country. Frederick Davidson (1932-2005) was born in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He performed in BBC radio plays before coming to America in 1976. He went on to record more than eight hundred audiobooks, garnering AudioFile's Golden Voice Award, numerous Earphones Awards, and a Grammy nomination for his readings.