Francis Chisholm is a compassionate and humble priest whosevocation emerged from a crucible of suffering. His parents were murdered inanti-Catholic riots in Scotland, his guardians mistreat him, and hissweetheart commits suicide. He is sent to China where he establishes aflourishing Catholic mission amid desperate poverty, civil war, plague, andthe hostility of his superiors. Recognized as A.J. Cronin's best novel,The Keys of the Kingdom is a gripping and thoughtful tale of a mancalled to do good in an imperfect world.

The Keys of the Kingdom

Self-Help

A.J. Cronin

Relationships

Little. Brown and Company

A Pocketful Of Rye is a novel of cunning and conscience, life and the struggle to continue living with the sadness of love all but forgotten in the wake of days gone by, written with the imaginative energy and driving force of all of A.J. Cronin's novels.

A Pocketful of Rye

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Little,Brown

Dr. Shannon must overcome many obstacles before he can develop a vaccine to prevent Britain's influenza epidemics

Shannon's Way

Beyond This Place

Classics

Little Brown & Co (Pap)

Adventures of a Black Bag

Short Stories & Anthologies

New English Library Ltd.

Hatters Castle was written in 1930 but contains an essential truth which is just as relevant today. Its main theme is the hubris of one man and the tragic path it leads him and members of his family down. James Brodie dominates the book as he did his family and, blind to the physical and mental destruction he causes, the tragedies he generates are inevitable. The book was a huge bestseller on its release and it is not difficult to see why. Not only did it address subjects not often dealt with by literature at the time but it created a cast of characters so vivid that the reader becomes part of the world that Cronin creates. Cronin's books are perhaps not as popular as they were when first published. This may be because of their deceptively simple narrative structure, but great novels give us insights into humanity which are not limited to the time they are written. Hatters Castle is a great novel and the reader is changed by reading it.

Hatter's Castle

Contemporary

The keys of the kingdom

New English Library

Paul Mathry, a student about to graduate and embark upon a teaching career, finds out that his father was convicted for murder, a secret that his mother had hidden from him since his childhood.Driven by an intense desire to see his father, Paul sets out to visit him in prison, only to find out that visitors are never allowed there.From there, he meets the primary witnesses in the case that convicted his father, not all of whom are supportive to Paul's cause. He encounters several dead ends but he persists, with the help of a store girl named Lena and a news reporter.His persistent campaign finally bears fruit. Rees Mathry, Paul's father, goes on appeal and is vindicated. The novel ends with Paul's father, a hardened, cynical man, seeing a fleeting hope for self-renewal and a purposeful life.In the magnificent narrative tradition of The Citadel, The Stars Look Down and Cronin's other classic novels, Beyond This Place is a great book by a much-loved author.

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

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Books by A.J. Cronin