Alan Paton Books in Order
20 books are credited to Alan Paton, published between 1948 and 2008; 5 of them appeared after Alan Paton's death in 1988. The first book is Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) and the newest is The Hero of Currie Road (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 20
- Published
- 1948–2008
- Pages on record
- 4,040 in 18 of 20 books
- Reading time
- 67–101 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,040 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 20 titles with a page count on record.
South African writer and educator Alan Paton (11 January 1903 - 12 April 1988) opposed apartheid in both writing and activism. Paton's novels include Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) and Too Late the Phalarope (1953), and the short story The Waste Land also appears among the works. The Order of Ikhamanga in Gold was awarded to Paton after his death for literary service to the anti-apartheid cause. The catalogue lists 20 books, including Tales From a Troubled Land (1961), Hofmeyr (1962) and The Hero of Currie Road (2008).
How many Alan Paton books are there?
Alan Paton has 20 books, released between 1948 and 2008. 5 of them were published after Alan Paton's death in 1988.
Alan Paton Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 20 Alan Paton books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Cry, the Beloved Country1948 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/419483201/4
- 2Too Late the Phalarope1953 · 287 pages · confirmed 1/419532871/4
- 3The Land And People Of South Africa1955 · 159 pages · confirmed 1/419551591/4
- 4South Africa And Her People1958 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/419581581/4
- 5Tales From a Troubled Land1961 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/419611281/4
- 6Debbie Go Home1961 · 132 pages · confirmed 1/419611321/4
- 7Hofmeyr1962 · confirmed 1/41962–1/4
- 8Sponono1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 9The Long View1968 · 295 pages · confirmed 1/419682951/4
- 10Kontakion for You Departed1969 · 142 pages · confirmed 1/419691421/4
- 11Instrument of Thy Peace1969 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/419691281/4
- 12Apartheid And The Archbishop1973 · 311 pages · confirmed 1/419733111/4
- 13Knocking on the Door1975 · 296 pages · confirmed 1/419752961/4
- 14Towards the Mountain1980 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/419803201/4
- 15Ah But Your Land Is Beautiful1981 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/419812881/4
- 16Save the Beloved Country1989 · 315 pages · confirmed 1/419893151/4
- 17Journey Continued: An Autobiography1990 · 308 pages · confirmed 1/419903081/4
- 18Songs Of Africa: Collected Poems1995 · 218 pages · confirmed 1/419952181/4
- 19Lost City of the Kalahari2005 · 60 pages · confirmed 1/42005601/4
- 20The Hero of Currie Road2008 · 175 pages · confirmed 1/420081751/4
Alan Paton books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Standalone books
20 books20 Alan Paton titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Alan Paton books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 20 Alan Paton books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Alan Paton
Start with Cry, the Beloved Country (1948), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Alan Paton book?
The Hero of Currie Road (2008) is the newest Alan Paton book released so far.
Is there a new Alan Paton book coming?
No next Alan Paton book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Alan Paton has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Alan Paton. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards1949Won
Alan Paton at a glance
- Died
- Alan Paton died in 1988, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Alan Paton are still being published after Alan Paton's death in 1988; the newest appeared in 2008.
- Release pace
- Alan Paton books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 4,040 pages across the 18 of 20 books with a recorded length, a median of 252 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Alan Paton books, 7 of 20, were published in the 1960s.
What the Alan Paton books are about
17 of the 20 Alan Paton books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: apartheid is tagged on 5 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Apartheid 5 of 17 books
- Race relations 5 of 17 books
- Paton, alan, 1903-1988 3 of 17 books
- South Africa 3 of 17 books
- Authors, South African 2 of 17 books
- Biography 2 of 17 books
- Travel 2 of 17 books
- Juvenile literature 2 of 17 books
- Politics and government 2 of 17 books
- Social life and customs 2 of 17 books
- South African Authors 2 of 17 books