His works include the novels Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), Too Late the Phalarope (1953), and the short story The Waste Land.

Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg in the Colony of Natal (now South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province), the son of a civil servant[4] (who was of Christadelphian belief) and his wife.

After attending Maritzburg College for high school, Paton earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal[4] in his hometown.

He introduced controversial "progressive" reforms,[4] including policies on open dormitories, work permits, and home visitation.

Paton volunteered for military service with the British Commonwealth forces during World War II, but was refused by the South African authorities.

During his time in Norway, he began work on his seminal novel Cry, the Beloved Country, which he completed over the course of his journey, finishing it on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1946.

[7] Paton served as President of the LPSA until the government forced its dissolution in the late 1960s, officially because its membership comprised both Blacks and Whites.

[8] Paton's writer colleague Laurens van der Post, who had moved to England in the 1930s, helped the party in many ways.

The South African Secret Police were aware that van der Post was providing money to Paton and the LPSA, but they could not stop it by legal procedures.

The South African government confiscated Paton's passport when he returned from New York City in 1960, where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award.

[9] Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful was built on parallel life stories, letters, speeches, news and records in legal proceedings.