The Keys of the Kingdom is the unforgettable story of the Reverend Francis Chisholm and his fight against the snares of the world he has given up.

One of Cronin’s most famous characters, we follow Chisholm from Scotland to China over the course of six decades as he tries to find the true path for himself and the church. Guided by humility and strength, courage and kindness, Chisholm must overcome the famine, plague and war his journey presents to him.

From the author of The Citadel, Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, Shannon’s Way and The Spanish Gardener comes this compelling tale of an ordinary man of the people.

Immensely successful * The Spectator *
A.J. Cronin was perhaps the most successful novelist of the 1930s … probably as significant a figure as J.B. Priestley * The English Historical Review *
One of the most popular authors in the English speaking world * New York Times *

A J Cronin was born in Cardross, Scotland, in 1896 and studied at the University of Glasgow. In 1916 he served as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteers Reserve, and at the war’s end he completed his medical studies and practiced in South Wales. He was later appointed to the Ministry of Mines, studying the medical problems of the mining industry. He later moved to London and built up a successful practice in the West End. In 1931 he published his first book, Hatter’s Castle, which was compared with the work of Dickens, Hardy and Balzac, winning him critical acclaim. Six years later he published The Citadel which brought attention to the incompetence of medical practice and helped incite the establishment of the NHS. Cronin died in 1931.