Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful (1983) is the third novel by South African author Alan Paton. He is best known for his debut novel Cry, the Beloved Country (1948). Ah, But Your Land is Beautiful is set in the 1950s, after apartheid was established in postwar South Africa. The historical novel explores fictional characters interacting with historical figures working to resist these laws. In this novel, set in the years 1952 to 1958, Paton drew from his years working as a political activist against apartheid. He also based it on his time as the president of the Liberal Party of South Africa. In the foreword, Paton says that the book contains both real (historic) and fictitious characters.Two persons he references were still living at the time of his writing: Helen Joseph and Archbishop Trevor Huddleston. Each gave permission to Paton to introduce them, without requiring to see his text. He noted that other real persons, who had died by the time of publication, were Albert Lutuli, Dr. Monty Naicker, Patrick Duncan, Advocate Donald Barkly Molteno, and Archbishop Geoffrey Clayton. Source: Wikipedia (en)