The Keys of the Kingdom

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A magnificent story of the great adventure of individual goodness."
—The New York Times Book Review

"Cronin is a first-rate literary craftsman with an honest love of simple humanity."
—Time magazine

"Full of life and people and color."
—Harper’s Magazine

 

Francis Chisholm is a compassionate and humble priest whose individuality and directness make him unpopular with other clergy. Considered a failure by his superiors, he is sent to China to maintain a mission amid desperate poverty, civil war, plague, and the hostility of his superiors. In the face of this constant danger and hardship, Father Chisholm finds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Recognized as A. J. Cronin’s best novel, The Keys of the Kingdom is an enthralling, fast-moving, colorful tale of a deeply spiritual man called to do good in an imperfect world.
 

A. J. Cronin (1896–1981) was a Scots-born physician who became one of the most popular writers of religious-themed fiction in the mid-twentieth century. His novels are marked by colorful characters and a deep social conscience. His best-known novels are The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom.