<Tr> <Th> Pages </Th> <Td> 344 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> OCLC </Th> <Td> 364263 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1941 novel by A.J. Cronin . Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission in China . Beset by tragedy in his youth, as a missionary Chisholm endures many years of hardship, punctuated by famine, plague and war in the Chinese province to which he is assigned . Through a life guided by compassion and tolerance, Chisholm earns the respect of the Chinese--and of fellow clergy who would mistrust him--with his kindly, high - minded and courageous ways . </P> <P> The novel has six parts, the first (The Beginning of the End) taking place in Scotland in 1938 . Father Francis Chisholm is an old man, living with a housekeeper and a young orphan . Due to his unconventional views, he is being investigated by Monsignor Sleeth . The second section (Strange Vocation), focuses on Chisholm's youth . His father a Catholic and his mother a non-denominational Protestant . After the father is beaten by an anti-Catholic mob, Chisholm's mother tries to lead him home to safety, only for them both to drown after falling off a bridge into a strong current, leaving young Francis an orphan . Initially, his kindly Aunt Polly wishes to adopt him, but his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Glennie, intervenes and adopts him, thereby receiving any money in the Chisholm's estate . Francis's maternal grandfather, a baker by trade, is also a preacher of his own branch of Christianity focused on universal tolerance, and plays a large role in the development of Francis's ideologies . While his grandfather is kind, Mrs. Glennie and her son Malcolm are resentful and exploitative . Francis is forced to quit school and work in a shipyard . </P>

The key of the kings kingdom in spanish