A sincere Christian leader at the height of his ecclesiastical career, George Townshend astonished his contemporaries by relinquishing his archdeaconry “in order to be loyal to Christ as I know Him” and to announce the coming of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfilment of Gospel promise. His journey—from ordination in Salt Lake City to academic life at Sewanee, through decades of ministry in rural Galway and a final decade near Dublin—unfolds as both a gripping adventure and a testament to modest courage and unwavering spiritual conviction.

Beyond his public service, Townshend’s pen shaped Irish literary life. A leading voice for The Irish Times from 1900 to 1904, he went on to acclaim with The Altar on the Hearth (1927) and The Genius of Ireland (1930). His later Bahá’í writings, translated worldwide, testify to his vision of Ireland’s role in a transformed global community.

This new edition bridges previously missing chapters of his Oxford years and early American sojourn, enriched by newly uncovered documents from his son, offering the fullest portrait yet of a remarkable life.