Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (8 December 1919 – 19 June 2000) was a South African civil rights campaigner and author. Born in 1919 in Pretoria, Benson served in the South African Women's Army during World War II. After the war, she was secretary to film director David Lean. Benson became acquainted with the author Alan Paton, and read his novel "Cry, the beloved country" (1948), whose main theme was racial discrimination in South Africa. This affected her greatly, and she became a campaigner for the rights of black people there. She worked with Michael Scott (who, in 1946, was
The Far Country (novel) The Far Country (novel) The Far Country is a novel by Nevil Shute, first published in 1952. In this novel, Shute has some harsh things to say about the new (British) National Health Service, as well as the socialist Labour government, themes he would later develop more fully in "In the Wet". He describes the lot of the 'New Australians'; refugees who are required to work for two years where they are placed, in return for free passage to Australia. The story takes place partly in London and partly in Australia. It is set in 1950. Jennifer Morton, a young