Her Life and Times

A fascinating look at the life of Sara Louisa, Lady Blomfield, one of the most socially distinguished adherents of the Bahá’í Faith, the hostess to ‘Abdu’l Bahá on His historic visits to London in 1911 and 1912-13 and the chronicler of Bahá’í history in her book The Chosen Highway.

The life of Sara Louisa, Lady Blomfield, spanned one of the most exciting periods in human history – the last half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries and the social and political developments that defined the era: the suffragist movement, the rise of eastern religious thought, Theosophy and spiritualism in Europe, the First World War, modernization. She experienced the poverty of rural Ireland and the ceremony of the royal court in London.

Beyond this, Lady Blomfield was one of the most socially distinguished adherents of the Bahá’í Faith, moving in social circles that included royalty, members of government and the celebrities of the day. She was the gracious and generous hostess to ‘Abdu’l Bahá on His historic visits to London in 1911 and 1912–13 and was a chronicler of Bahá’í history in her book The Chosen Highway.

Above all, she was a tireless advocate of the Bahá’í Faith’s spiritual and social teachings; a defender of her persecuted co religionists in Iran; a champion of the rights of women, children, prisoners and animals; and an ardent promoter of peace and interreligious understanding.

Robert Weinberg’s detailed research has yielded a fascinating insight into the life of Lady Blomfield, her family and her circle, and into the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as it touched the lives of the British Bahá’ís. Punctuated by glimpses into London society and the rapidly developing Bahá’í community, Weinberg’s book provides compelling grounds for Lady Blomfield’s inclusion in the ‘galaxy of unforgettable women’ who ‘became the principal exponents of the Bahá’í message on both sides of the Atlantic’.