The Keys of the Kingdom — A.J. Cronin

AJ Cronin's inspiring novel of a controversial Scottish priest on a mission in China, where he learns the true meaning of humanity -- and of faith.
 
Francis Chisholm -- a kindhearted and straightforward Scottish priest -- walks a path of his own, making him unpopular with other members of the clergy. Ostracized by the clerical community and looked down on by his superiors, Chisholm takes a position in China where he supervises a mission beset by poverty, civil war, and plague. He encounters fierce resistance from the local Chinese who distrust his motives, especially as they do not understand or condone his faith. Despite enormous obstacles and temptations, Father Chisholm continues to live in accordance with what he holds as the ultimate truth -- serving humanity is the one true religion of the world.
 
The Keys of the Kingdom was adapted into the 1944 film starring Gregory Peck as Fr. Francis Chisholm, a role for which he earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination.
 
Hailed as “a magnificent story of the great adventure of individual goodness” by the New York Times Book Review and “full of life and people and color” by Harper's Magazine, The Keys of the Kingdom is considered by many to be AJ Cronin's finest work.