 Doris Lessing 's interest in politics began in the 1940s while she was living in Southern Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe ) . She was attracted to a group of " quasi @-@ Communist [ s ] " and joined their Left Book Club in Salisbury ( now <unk> ) . Later , prompted by the conflicts arising from racial segregation prominent in Rhodesia at the time , she also joined the Southern Rhodesian Labour Party . Lessing moved to London in 1949 and began her writing career there . She became a member of the British Communist Party in the early 1950s , and was an active <unk> against the use of nuclear weapons . 
