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 Cry (book) was never able to complete it before she died. After working on "The Cry", Fielding began to focus on the lives of women and the conditions that they live, which later influenced her work within the Bath community. The community was a group of female writers that challenged the traditional ideas of female education and the role of women in society. "The Cry" features stories by characters with responses by a group known as "the Cry". They operate as a sort of chorus in the novel. A meeting is held among Portia, Una, and the Cry, who regard Portia as