The Creation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era: “Textbook” of the Bahá’í Faith

Abstract

This article examines the creation of Dr. John E. Esslemont’s seminal work Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era (1923), the first comprehensive introductory book in English on the Bahá’í Faith. Drawing particularly on the extensive correspondence between Esslemont and Luṭfu’lláh Ḥakím, the article traces Esslemont’s journey from his initial encounter with the Bahá’í teachings in 1914 to the book’s publication and subsequent global impact. The unique involvement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi in reviewing and correcting the manuscript is highlighted, along with Esslemont’s collaboration with prominent early Bahá’ís. Rather than specifically addressing the book’s content, this paper examines its preparation and publication, its rapid translation and worldwide dissemination in multiple languages. Finally, Esslemont’s legacy is considered, both through his book and his personal example as a pioneering Western adherent of the Bahá’í Faith. Esslemont’s original spelling of Bahá’í names and terminology in his correspondence has been maintained.

1. Introduction

In September 1923, the London-based publisher George Allen & Unwin Ltd. printed the first edition of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era by Dr. John E. Esslemont, a full-length introduction to the Bahá’í Faith that Shoghi Effendi1 described as “the textbook of the Faith” (Rabbání 1969, p. 102) and “the finest presentation that has so far been given of the Cause” (Shoghi Effendi, 4 January 1923, RDM). Shoghi Effendi deemed Esslemont’s book “a real landmark in the history of the Faith” (Shoghi Effendi 1981, p. 97) in the British Isles, and was “confident” that its publication would “arouse great interest” (Shoghi Effendi, 4 January 1923, RDM).

Esslemont had begun to consider writing a book shortly after encountering the Bahá’í Movement—as it was then known—in late 1914, identifying the need for a single, comprehensive volume that presented its history and teachings at a time when there was a scarcity of adequate translations of Bahá’í sacred texts and introductory literature in English. The writing and publication of his book occupied Esslemont for the remaining decade of his life, alongside his medical work, his energetic promotion of the Bahá’í teachings locally in Bournemouth and nationally around England and Scotland, and his commitment to mastering Esperanto and Persian, all the while constantly struggling with the effects of tuberculosis.

Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era is also important in early western Bahá’í literature owing to the close involvement of both ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi in its correction and review, and for Esslemont’s close collaboration with knowledgeable and experienced early adherents of the Faith and its nascent institutions. Following the publication of the first English language edition, Shoghi Effendi lauded the book’s value, immediately commissioning translations into numerous languages. During the twentieth century, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was translated into more than seventy languages and remained the foremost introductory book on the Bahá’í Faith.2 Countless of its readers were moved by it to embrace the Bahá’í Faith, the most prominent of them being Queen Marie of Romania—the first royal personage to publicly promote the Bahá’í teachings.

2. Dr. John E. Esslemont

John Ebenezer Esslemont was born into a prosperous family of merchant grocers in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 19 May 1874. An intellectually gifted child, he attended Ferryhill public school (Momen 1975, pp. 1–2), then scored 95% in the examination to win a full bursary to attend Robert Gordon College, and later a Free Studentship as a reward for examination success. He excelled and won prizes in numerous subjects (RGC). Esslemont graduated with honourable distinction from Aberdeen University in April 1898 as a Bachelor of Medicine and of Surgery, and with a Research Scholarship (Momen 1975, p. 2). The following year, he spent periods in Berne and Strasbourg, where he wrote papers on his medical research (Momen 1975, p. 3). From 1901–1903, he worked in Australia, where, on 19 December 1902 at St Kilda in Melbourne, he married Jean McKerras Fraser, who had been his sister’s music teacher. After about 1911, however, the couple were living apart although they never divorced and remained on cordial terms. During the course of his research, Esslemont contracted tuberculosis, which cut short a promising career. In the winter of 1903, he transferred to South Africa for its beneficial climate, working there for five years at the Natal Government Hospital in Durban and as District Surgeon at Kroonstaad. Returning to England in 1908, he was appointed resident medical officer and later superintendent at the Home Sanatorium, 84 Southbourne Road, Bournemouth (Thorne et al. 2023, p. 324).

Esslemont was a sincere spiritual seeker who studied Spiritualism, Theosophy, comparative religion, and the teachings of various churches. A keen advocate of social change, he supported several socialist causes, including the campaign for women’s right to vote. He joined the Independent Labour Party and was also an enthusiast for the Garden City Movement, dedicated to creating cities where people could live free of the pollution, squalor and overcrowding.

In July 1912, Esslemont joined and played an active role in the State Medical Service Association, which proposed the establishment of a State Board of Health (Momen 1975, p. 7). The Association had a significant influence on shaping the discussions and debates that eventually led to the founding of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service in 1948.3

3. Encountering the Bahá’í Faith

It was through Dr. Charles Parker, the Secretary of the State Medical Service Association, that Esslemont encountered the Bahá’í Movement. Parker’s wife Dorothy, a Quaker, had heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speak in London on 12 January 1913. On her mentioning this to Esslemont in December 1914, he requested literature from her (Momen 1975, p. 7). In his spiritual search, Esslemont had thus far been unable to find anything that satisfied both his innate religious feeling and social conscience. However, on learning of the Bahá’í message, he was impressed by its beauty and thoroughness, so much so that, without delay, he procured every book he could in English which dealt with the subject. By March the following year, he was able to write to a Persian Bahá’í friend Luṭfu’lláh Ḥakím,4 then living in London: “I have got enough literature now to keep me going for some weeks. The Bahai teachings have filled me with new hope for the world” (Esslemont, 14 March 1915, LLH). Within two months, Esslemont reported, “Quite a number of friends here [Bournemouth] are interested in reading the books and I am getting quite a little lending library now” (Esslemont, 19 May 1915, LLH). He later wrote of the Bahá’í teachings in his introduction to Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era:

I was at once struck by their comprehensiveness, power and beauty. They impressed me as meeting the great needs of the modern world more fully and satisfactorily than any other presentation of religion which I had come across.

(Esslemont 1923, p. 6)

From the outset, Esslemont enthusiastically shared the Bahá’í message with others through wide-ranging and copious correspondence and at public meetings in Bournemouth. He endeavoured to keep the annual Bahá’í fast for the first time in March 1915 and offered lectures to groups, including the Theosophical Society, the Quakers, the Independent Labour Party, the Brotherhood Association, and several adult schools. He also wrote articles about it for The Southern Worker, A Labour and Socialist Journal and joined, or even initiated, movements to reach people who might be sympathetic to Bahá’í ideas. He helped establish a Bournemouth branch of the Union of Democratic Control—a group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive British foreign policy—and, in order to support the Bahá’í call for a universal auxiliary language, he began learning Esperanto in July 1915. Despite having made a deep study of the Bahá’í texts that were available to him, Esslemont was dissatisfied with reading them in English translation. Consequently, he also began to learn Persian to read them in their original language.

4. Writing Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era

Esslemont commenced work on writing an introductory book about the Bahá’í Movement, largely because he found considerable difficulty in finding the literature he wanted. He conceived the idea of putting together a book to make Bahá’í history and its teachings more easily available to English readers. By March 1917, work had begun with Mrs. Jean Stannard.5 “She and I are getting on with the book, slowly. It will take a good many months to do, I expect, but I am finding it very interesting work” (Esslemont, 4 March 1917, LLH), he wrote to Ḥakím.

Despite Esslemont’s best intentions, the main hindrance to making progress with the book was his poor health. Yet, as a result, his interest in healing would come to feature as an element of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. In one letter to Ḥakím, he wrote: “If you have any other tablet or quotations on the subject, perhaps you would send copies to me. I think we might introduce a section on ‘Healing’ in the book” (Esslemont, 20 September 1917, LLH).

One of Esslemont’s initiatives for a number of years was to establish a garden village for those suffering from tuberculosis.6 When his proposals came up against numerous obstacles, he discerned a wisdom in it: “The difficulties in the way would have been very great and in my present state of health, I doubt whether I could have carried on even if I had got a start,” he wrote to Ḥakím. “Meantime, I shall have no difficulty in finding sufficient work to do for the Master’s service. There is the book to be finished, which will take up any spare energy I have…” (Esslemont, 17 January 1918, LLH). After another relapse, Esslemont wrote to American Bahá’í Esperantists Frank and Josephine Clark in January 1918, “I am fairly well again now and have been back at work since January 1st, but have not yet been able to resume work on the Bahai book which I was writing or on Esperanto translation” (Esslemont, 30 January 1918, USNBA).

Esslemont had made sufficient progress on his manuscript by the summer of 1918 that he was able to share some draft chapters with friends, among them, Ethel Jenner Rosenberg.7 She approved of what she read during a visit to Bournemouth and recommended the chapter titled “What is a Bahai?” be printed as a stand-alone pamphlet before the whole text was completed, along with an announcement that it was intended to form a chapter of a forthcoming book on the Bahá’í Religion (Esslemont, 28 July 1918, LLH). The 31-page booklet What is a Bahá’í was printed by the Malvina Press in West Kensington in 1919. Arthur Cuthbert8 also read and discussed several chapters of the book with Esslemont in October 1918, but Esslemont’s health and other commitments meant that writing was put on hold for the remaining months of that year.

For some time, Esslemont had been eager to make a Bahá’í pilgrimage to the Holy Land. When communication was reopened with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after the Great War, Esslemont wrote to him, enclosing the first nine chapters of his book in rough draft. There exists an untranslated letter from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá inviting Esslemont to visit the Holy Land and to bring the completed book with him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also enclosed the fifth chapter of Esslemont’s book with some corrections (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 9 February 1919, RDM). Anticipating that the book would still take many more months, Esslemont wrote to Ḥakím: “However now that I know He wishes me to finish it, I shall go at it with fresh enthusiasm and shall try to get a little more time for it” (Esslemont, 20 March 1919, LLH). “It will mean, I fear, that I must spend less time in visiting friends and in correspondence,” he wrote, “but through the book I may be able to reach more people than by conversation and letters. My one desire is to help the coming of the Kingdom” (Esslemont, 14 February 1919, LLH). By April 1919, chapter XI on international peace had been completed and the following month, work commenced on a chapter dealing with the prophecies of Bahá’u’lláh. Esslemont requested that Ḥakím, who was then staying in Haifa, ask ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which prophecies would be suitable to include in the chapter. Esslemont also asked for any data for a proposed chapter on the progress of the Bahá’í Movement throughout the world.

In August 1919, Esslemont sent chapter XIII on “Religion and Science” to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and had finished two further sections, on “Various Religious Ordinances” and “Prophecies fulfilled by the Bahai Movement.” Another chapter, titled “The Way to Peace,” did not meet with the approval of Ethel Rosenberg, who considered it a “somewhat lengthy and wearisome reiteration of ideas already and more fully treated of in other chapters” (Esslemont, 8 August 1919, LLH). While Ḥakím was gathering notes in Haifa on the imprisonments and early life of Bahá’u’lláh, Esslemont was making notes about points in his manuscript about which he wanted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s opinion. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá requested that a translation be made into Persian so that he could offer corrections and suggestions. Esslemont asked Mírzá Yuhḥanná Dávúd—a Persian Bahá’í in London—to undertake the translation, but he refused for lack of time. Esslemont also wondered if Shoghi Effendi might find time to assist, but he also declined.

Esslemont was finally able to spend two and a half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa during the winter of 1919–1920. During this visit, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá discussed the book with him on various occasions, offering suggestions for its improvement. One day at lunch, for example, Esslemont asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about constitutional monarchy and received a full and concise reply which, he noted in his diary, he intended to incorporate into the book (Esslemont 1919, p. 37, PD).

Early on during his pilgrimage, Esslemont suggested to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that two or three of the other pilgrims who were well versed in the teachings might go through his book with him to revise and correct it, and that any points about which they were doubtful they might refer to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “He told to do as I liked, but he himself offered to come and bring Shoghi as interpreter and go through the M.S.” (Esslemont 1919, pp. 23–24, PD). “Naturally I was overjoyed to hear this, as the Master is so busy that I never imagined he would find time to go through much of the M.S. with me. He said that work done in love for the Cause would receive abundant confirmation.” Shoghi Effendi told Esslemont that at one of the men’s meetings some months previously he had read through chapter V, “What is a Baha’i?” sentence by sentence, to the whole company. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was reportedly very pleased with it (ibid.).

On 21 November 1919, Shoghi Effendi informed Esslemont that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá intended to send for him that morning to start on the book (Esslemont 1919, p. 56, PD). Each day, Shoghi Effendi typed up his own personal diary, sharing pages with Esslemont as material to consider for a proposed chapter on the progress of the Bahá’í Movement. Esslemont spent several hours each day typing chapters using a small typewriter that Shoghi Effendi had given to him. On 14 December, Esslemont was delighted to be told by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that he and Ḥakím should visit him every afternoon at 3 o’clock to revise the chapters (Esslemont 1919, p. 118, PD). A few days later, Esslemont was able to explain to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the plan of the book, which “he quite approved saying it was very comprehensive. Then he went through the first half of the introduction, giving only the gist of some parts and reading others in extenso [from beginning to end]. He expressed cordial approval of what was read and said we would continue the reading in the meeting in the evening.” Each morning, Esslemont worked with Dr. Bagdadi9 on the translation and what they translated each day was read at the meeting in the evening (Esslemont 1919, p. 120, PD).

The most precise guidance given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Esslemont was that he should restrict himself to “(1) Giving the Glad Tidings and (2) giving the proofs of Baha’u’llah’s prophethood + Divine Power. The book must be short + interesting so that people would not be fatigued by reading it. I must avoid unnecessary details and stick to what was really important” (Esslemont 1919, p. 140, PD). Towards the end of Esslemont’s visit, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reiterated that he wished the book to be made shorter: “…the Historical part about Persia and the Chap. about the Bab should be shortened. I had better not say much about marriage, divorce, fasts etc. It should be confined as much as possible to writing about Baha’u’llah, his teachings and his proofs” (Esslemont 1920, p. 143, PD). Bidding Esslemont farewell, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him: “I have already told you my wishes about the book. I ought to have read through the translation of the Chapters you have written but I have been so busy. … All day long there is so much to do I have not found time to read your book. But when you rewrite it, I shall find time. I shall read it at midnight if I have no time through the day” (Esslemont 1920, p. 152, PD).

Having returned to England, by May 1920 Esslemont had reduced the manuscript by half, and expressed the hope that it might “be the means of bringing the knowledge of the Cause to many and of helping forward the Cause in the West” (Esslemont, 15 May 1920, LLH). Knowledge of his book had meanwhile reached Bahá’ís in the United States. Among the correspondence he received was a suggestion that the book should be published in Persian and Esperanto in parallel columns. Esslemont felt, however, that his priority should be to publish it first in English (Esslemont, 31 May 1920, LLH).

The following month, he had finished the re-writing of the book—by then around 75,000 words—and called upon the assistance of a Miss Williams to type it (Esslemont, 17 June 1920, LLH). “I wonder whether the Master will still consider that too long,” he wrote to Ḥakím. “I want it to be just what the Master wants” (Esslemont, 17 June 1920, LLH). He also began to consider photographic illustrations to be included and sent eight revised chapters of the manuscript to Ḥakím in July 1920, promising the remaining six as soon as Miss Williams had completed typing them (Esslemont, 2 July 1920, LLH). He hoped that the book would be ready for publication in 1921, but it would take another two years before the book went to press.

Efforts to translate the manuscript into Persian for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s consideration continued in the Holy Land through the summer of 1920. On 10 August, Esslemont posted the remaining six chapters to Ḥakím for translation. “I hope the Master will be pleased with it,” he wrote, “but the more He alters it, the better I shall be pleased, for it is not my own ideas but the Bahai Truths I wish to present, and I wish nothing to be in the Book that is not in accordance with Divine Wisdom.” He shared a copy with Claudia Stuart Coles,10 who praised its contents, gave Esslemont useful suggestions, pre-ordered 20 copies, and offered to help with the expense of publication (Esslemont, 3 September 1920, LLH). Norman King, an American Bahá’í resident in Bournemouth, ordered 10 and by October, the prominent American Bahá’í Roy Wilhelm had written to order 180 copies.

Around this time, Esslemont also began to think of a title for his book. Initially he considered Baha’Ullah and His Message and The Bahai Glad-Tidings, later preferring The New Dawn: Baha’u’llah and His Message to Mankind. He sought the advice of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the matter but it is not yet clear at what point he settled on Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.

As progress continued on the Persian translation of the manuscript and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s correcting of it, Shoghi Effendi supplied Esslemont with the correct transliteration of all the Persian and Arabic words and names which occur in the book. Esslemont began to use his manuscript in his personal efforts to promote interest in the Bahá’í teachings. Among his acquaintances in Bournemouth, a Dr. Scott and his wife responded positively, with Mrs. Scott reportedly saying, “the Bahai teachings are the first presentation of religion that she … felt attracted to” (Esslemont, 3 September 1920, LLH).

There was also the matter of a suitable publisher to consider. Esslemont had written to Bell, who had printed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Paris Talks, but they were uninterested and advised him to seek an American publisher. On Thursday 27 January 1921, Esslemont met with Stanley Unwin—who served on the Council of the League of Nations Union and was Managing Director of the Swarthmore Press11—about publishing his book. Unwin spent an hour before meeting with Esslemont going through the manuscript and expressed his satisfaction with it. He was willing to publish the book if Esslemont were to take 500 copies which would be supplied to him at about 8 shillings per copy. The sale price of the book would be 10 shillings and sixpence. Unwin was willing to spend £30 or £40 in advertising the book, would send copies for review to newspapers and periodicals, and mention it in their booklists. The first edition would probably run to 1500 copies. The copy for the American market would be sent over in sheets of 32 pages each and bound by an American firm which would act as publishers in America. Considering that Esslemont was quite unknown as an author, and that the subject of the Bahá’í Faith was so little known in England, he felt the terms were as favourable as he could expect (Esslemont, 29 January 1921, LLH).

In February 1921, Esslemont learned that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had started on the corrections and was pleased with the first chapter. Esslemont asked Ḥakím to translate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s corrections and additions into English. There was also the suggestion that a Persian edition be published. Through his own correspondence with American Bahá’ís the number of people pre-ordering copies increased to over 250. Harry Randall ordered 100, and more than 50 copies were requested by English Bahá’ís (Esslemont, 29 January 1921, LLH).

Miss Mary Lesch, who ran the United States Bahai Publishing Society from 1910–1924, expressed her disappointment to Esslemont that he had not considered asking the Society to publish his book, as she believed they could have brought it out more cheaply than Allen and Unwin. Esslemont replied to her that it was not too late, as he had made no agreement yet with regard to the publishing. “I expect the book will find quite ten times as many readers in America as in this country,” he wrote to Ḥakím, “so that it is really more important to have it cheap in America than in England. I understand that books going from England to America are liable to import duty, while books coming from America to this country are not, so that there would be advantages in having it published in America” (Esslemont, 3 April 1921, LLH). Later Esslemont received a letter from Lesch stating that the Society could not undertake its publication, and also one from Ethel Rosenberg urging him strongly that the book should be published in England. Esslemont settled on Allen and Unwin to publish it and considered accepting no royalties on the first 1000 copies, which would enable them to bring out the book at a lower price.

As he continued to receive occasional word from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá concerning corrections, Esslemont worked further on revising his manuscript. He felt least satisfied with the chapter on prophecies and reiterated his request to Ḥakím in Haifa to seek examples from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and members of his family. When the Persian manuscript began to arrive, Esslemont asked Dr. Arastú “Aflatun” Khán—Ḥakím’s older brother—to read it through, comparing it with the English. While Khán considered the translation to be beautifully done, he could find no alterations in it that would necessitate changes in the English version. Esslemont asked Ḥakím to send separately the corrections that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had made, along with their English translation, so that he could see whether the corrections applied only to the Persian translation, or whether the English also required alteration.

By 15 August 1921, while the chapters were still being revised in the Holy Land, the advance orders received by Esslemont had reached around 350 copies. In his letters to Ḥakím, Esslemont’s concern to promptly receive the corrections is evident, but he did not wish to rush or impose upon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. As it transpired, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would only have three months left to live and the impending critical juncture in the Bahá’í Faith would result in even more delays in Esslemont’s book being published. By the time he passed away, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had managed to correct chapters 1, 2, 5 and part of chapter 3. In the introduction to Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Esslemont said that it was a matter of profound regret to him that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was not able to complete the correction of the manuscript, “as the value of the book would thereby have been greatly enhanced” (Esslemont 1923, pp. 6–7).

In the spring of 1922, Esslemont spent two days in London with prominent American Bahá’ís Roy Wilhelm and Mountfort Mills and received their suggestions on the first ten chapters of the book. They took the remaining four chapters to read on their return voyage to New York. Esslemont hoped that Shoghi Effendi, now Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith—with whom he had a close friendship—would be able to take up the correction of his text and the book would be published by the autumn. But none of the Bahá’ís at that point could have had any notion about the scope and burden of the work inherited by Shoghi Effendi, and the Guardian had himself retreated to Switzerland for several months to prepare himself for the work ahead of him. “I fear it will be sometime before he will be able to revise my book, but it will be done in God’s good time,” Esslemont wrote to Ḥakím (Esslemont, 30 May 1922, LLH). “Have you any idea when Shoghi will be back or when he is likely to have time to revise the manuscript?” (Esslemont, 18 June 1922, LLH). He even hoped that Shoghi Effendi might spend a few days with him in Bournemouth before he returned to the Holy Land, to go over the revisions together. In August 1922, Esslemont incorporated the corrections he had received from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and reinstated the chapter, “Health and Healing,” which he had omitted from the manuscript he had sent to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Following the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, an All-England Bahá’í Council was elected, which met for the first time on 17 June 1922. Esslemont represented Bournemouth on the new body. Among the Council’s actions was the appointment of Rosenberg and Coles to read and correct the remaining chapters of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, which was completed by December 1922, the two friends slightly modifying and enthusiastically approving the text.

On 23 December 1922, Shoghi Effendi wrote to his “beloved brethren and sisters throughout Great Britain, care of the members of the Bahá’í Council”:

Ere long, an able and experienced teacher recently arrived from Persia will visit your shores and will, I trust, by his thorough knowledge of the Cause, his wide experience, his fluency, his ardour and his devotion, reanimate every drooping spirit and inspire the active worker to make fresh and determined efforts for the deepening as well as the spreading of the Movement in those regions. …Our beloved Dr. Esslemont will, I trust, be particularly pleased to meet him, as he is eminently qualified to offer him valuable help in connection with various aspects of his book. I am enclosing various suggestions of Mr. Dreyfus-Barney and of Mr. Roy Wilhelm made by them at my request, during their last sojourn in the Holy Land. I submit them to Dr. Esslemont’s consideration as well as to that of the Spiritual Assembly. I very deeply regret my inability to give the attention I desire to this admirable work of his, but will assuredly do all in my power to aid him in the final stages of his work. I am certain however that the book as it now stands gives the finest and most effective presentation of the various aspects of the Cause to the mind of the Oriental as well as to that of the Westerner. May it arouse a genuine and widespread interest in the Cause throughout the world.

(Shoghi Effendi 1981, pp. 11–12)

A day after having sent the manuscript to the publisher on 28 December 1922, Esslemont received a cable from Shoghi Effendi, which read:

AM REVIEWING YOUR BOOK. PERSIAN TEACHER SOON ARRIVING LONDON.

CAN YOU DELAY ONE MONTH ITS PUBLICATION?

(Shoghi Effendi, 29 December 1922, RDM)

The Persian teacher mentioned was ‘Abdu’l-Ḥusayn Ávárih, who had travelled extensively to teach the Bahá’í Faith and authored a comprehensive history of the religion. Esslemont immediately requested the manuscript back from the publisher in the hope that Shoghi Effendi would improve some of the translations and suggest other improvements. He believed it would give the book more authority if it were to be revised and approved by the Guardian of the Cause.

In a later letter, Shoghi Effendi wrote, “Jináb-i-Ávárih, the Persian teacher, will, I hope, give you valuable suggestions in connection with various phases of your book as he is well versed in the History of the Movement” (Shoghi Effendi, 4 January 1923, RDM). In the original edition of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Esslemont expressed his gratitude to Ávárih for his assistance in the preparation of the book, referring to him as “the learned Persian historian of the Bahá’í movement”12 (Esslemont 1923, pp. 6–7).

Shoghi Effendi praised Esslemont’s overall presentation and argument of the book and additionally outlined a transliteration system for his use and for future publications:

My dear brother:

I have received your book and letter with very great pleasure and have during the past week been busily engaged in reviewing its contents. I am exceedingly sorry that I am unable to give it a very close consideration and consider and ponder upon every part of it as thoroughly as I desire to do, for such a minute study of the book would necessitate reference to the original sources and text of the Writings and the revision of their translations. I have, however, read it all through and have made here and there various alterations which I trust will meet with your approval. I think that the presentation of the subject is admirable and the translations infinitely better than any we have had until now. The development of your argument is convincing and the system you have adopted cannot fail to impress the reader. Regarding transliteration, I have suggested one or two alterations that I thought would be useful and more correct, as for instance a dash under sh for the letter ش [shín] that it may differentiate the sound of the letter ش from that of the 2 letters ه [hih] and س [sin]. I think also with a little effort and familiarity the letter ḍ with the dot underneath will come to be regarded as ض and equivalent to z in its sound. It is necessary to maintain ḍ for ض in order to differentiate it from ظ = ẓ, ذ = dh, ز = z, all of which sound alike in Persian. …

I strongly urge you to follow the transliteration system in your printed book that it may serve as a correct example to future publications.

(Shoghi Effendi, 4 January 1923, RDM)

Shoghi Effendi also sent a list of questions about which he asked Esslemont to discuss with Ávárih. A few days were spent by Esslemont in London consulting with Ávárih, Coles, and Rosenberg, and he met with Ávárih again on 26 March 1923. By May, he was correcting the proof sheets, which the printer was sending in instalments. There were 250 pages in total.

In the middle of August 1923, Esslemont received a sample copy of the book and was very pleased with the printing and binding. It was finally published in September 1923, six years after he had begun work on it. More than 500 copies were sent out, mostly to the United States and around England but also to some twenty other countries. Esslemont received enthusiastic letters about it from Bahá’ís around the world including Laura Dreyfus-Barney in Paris. “I think arrangements will probably be made later with an American Publisher for the publication of an American Edition,” Esslemont wrote to Ella Goodall Cooper in California, “but it will probably be some months before the American Edition would be available” (Esslemont, 7 September 2023, USNBA).

A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to Esslemont dated 1 December 1923 (RDM) applauds his recent publication. One month later the Guardian told Esslemont in a letter of 1 January 1924 (RDM) about the genuine and widespread interest aroused by the book. Shoghi Effendi in his own handwriting noted that its publication marked a distinguished service to the Cause and expressed confidence in Esslemont’s future service.

5. Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era in the World

The reception of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was universally positive. The Bahá’í journal Star of the West described it as “so complete in its presentation, so condensed, so profound, so original and organized in thought, so simple in style, yet scientific in its analysis that one reads its pages in pure joy” (Star of the West 1923, p. 250).

On 26 January 1924 Shoghi Effendi gave directions to Esslemont for a Persian translation of the book, stating that he considered it would be of great use in teaching Persian-speaking people (RDM). A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to Esslemont dated 12 February 1924 (RDM), with a postscript in his own hand, expresses his great pleasure at learning that the book is receiving such good reviews and his hope that these reviews will also render services to the Cause. Esslemont was instructed to share the Persian translation by Mírzá Munir-i-Zayn with Mírzá ‘Azizu’lláh Varqá to compare it with the original. Shoghi Effendi added, “I am delighted to learn that the translation of your book is contemplated by some of the friends. I feel that the proper and most efficient way to undertake this is to have it supervised and done under the direction and with the full sanction of the Spiritual Assembly of Ṭihrán and the German National Assembly respectively. I wish them all success and assure you my love and prayers” (Esslemont, 18 February 1924, LLH).

Of the first edition of 1500 copies published, only 225 remained in stock by July 1924. George Allen & Unwin were proceeding with the printing of 5000 copies to be distributed in the United States by Brentano’s, an independent bookseller in New York City, Washington D.C., and Chicago, and a further 1000 copies were to be printed in Britain for when the first edition was exhausted at the lower price of six shillings. His book completed, Esslemont created a new pamphlet, A 19th century Prophet: Baha’u’llah and His Message, which was commissioned by the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles. Three thousand copies were printed for the conference on “Living Religions within the Empire” which was to be held at Wembley in the autumn of 1924. Esslemont also wrote to consult with Shoghi Effendi about his future work. He was contemplating starting work on another book, perhaps a life of Bahá’u’lláh or of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, neither of which ever came to fruition.

Alongside Shoghi Effendi, the greatest champion of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was the foremost Bahá’í itinerant teacher, Martha Root. One of her primary activities during her world-encircling journeys was to initiate the translation and publication of the book in other languages and countries. Shoghi Effendi often forwarded funds to assist her in the translation and publication of various foreign editions. By the end of 1924, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was being translated into Swedish and German and had already been translated into Danish, although the translation had not been published.

In early 1926, Root sent the book to Queen Marie of Romania who, during her first meeting with Root, informed her that she was reading it with deep interest. Queen Marie had already been aware of the book, writing in her diary that her friend Roxo Weingartner, a Dutch-born actress and lifelong friend of the actress Sarah Bernhardt, kept a copy of it near her bed (Marcus 2000, p. 49). In her first open letter published in the Toronto Daily Star on 4 May 1926, Queen Marie described Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era as a “glorious book of love and goodness, strength and beauty” affirming that “no man could fail to be better because of this book” (Marcus 2000, p. 57).

Visiting Warsaw in February 1929, Root encouraged Lidia Zamenhof, daughter of the creator of Esperanto, to continue in her efforts to translate Esslemont’s book into Esperanto and assisted her in the task every day of her stay in the city (Heller 1985, p. 81). That translation was published at the end of 1930. Root also urged Cao Yun Xiang (Dr. Y.S. Tsao), who was President of Tsinghua (American Indemnity College), China’s pre-eminent university in the 1920s, to translate Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era into Chinese. After speedily completing the translation, he had it printed in early 1932 by the Chinese Bahá’í Press which he had helped establish in Shanghai.

A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Bahá’í in Shanghai enclosed funds for Bahá’í publications in Chinese: “Among other things, gradually send twenty copies of Dr. Esslemont’s book in Chinese to Ṭihrán. Recommend, on the Guardian’s behalf, that the Spiritual Assembly of Ṭihrán send copies of this book, as soon as they receive them, to each of the Assemblies that are the centres of the Bahá’í administrative divisions in Iran. He said that copies of Esslemont’s book have recently arrived here and have been placed in the library of the blessed Mansion adjacent to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and also in the Pilgrim House in the vicinity of the Shrine of the Báb” (Shoghi Effendi, 15 March 1932, RDM).

In 1930, Shoghi Effendi had initiated the Japanese translation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era with Agnes Alexander, a task that took more than three years and numerous translators to complete. “I long to hear that it has been accomplished” (Redman and Troxel 2022, p. 234), the Guardian wrote to Alexander. About its translators, Shoghi Effendi’s secretary wrote: “They will obtain the reward of their labours from the services this book will render to the Cause as well as to the people of their land. He is certain that through it many of the seeking souls will learn of the truth of the Faith and thereby attain the source of eternal grace and salvation” (Redman and Troxel 2022, p. 239).

“Now that you have such a wonderful book translated and published in Japanese, your work of spreading the Cause should be greatly stimulated,” Shoghi Effendi wrote to Alexander through his secretary,

because you have first-literature to hand to the newcomer and ask him to read it. He can pursue his studies in the privacy of his own room without the need of a teacher or of some person to guide him. To awaken such deep interest, however, it may be advisable to hold study classes and let the group study the book together and discuss its points as they arise.

[postscript in Shoghi Effendi’s handwriting] The publication of the Japanese version of The New Era marks a landmark in the history of the Faith in that land.

(Redman and Troxel 2022, p. 240)

By 1931, Shoghi Effendi informed Root that he had seven printed translations of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era in his room and urged her to press on with further translations and publications. The following year, the Guardian sent £9 to Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí in Burma, in order to assist and hasten the completion of the translation of the book into Burmese. By then 16 printed translations had been gathered and placed in the Mansion of Bahjí and, Shoghi Effendi informed Rúmí, it was being translated into 16 additional languages including Burmese.

A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Bahá’í in Tunisia advises him to use the French translation of Esslemont’s book which had recently been completed in Geneva. The letter noted that this book is the most complete, correct, and dignified book on the Faith. The addressee was encouraged to obtain copies from Geneva and disseminate them (Shoghi Effendi, 9 December 1932, RDM).

The following year, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Bahá’í in the United States mentioned that reports had been received in the Holy Land regarding the completion of the translation of Esslemont’s book into Dutch (Shoghi Effendi, 11 March 1933, RDM). In this letter, the Guardian encouraged its immediate publication and noted that it would be of great assistance to teaching the Cause in the Netherlands: “According to the reports we have received from Mrs. Greeven, Captain Liebau has completed the translation of Dr. Esslemont’s book. Should it go immediately to the printers, as Shoghi Effendi hopes it will, it will be a source of great assistance to you. In Eastern Europe the Cause is making wonderful headway. We earnestly hope Northern Europe will do the same. They are very enlightened and should appreciate the importance of peace and a spiritual regeneration of man” (Shoghi Effendi, 11 March 1933, RDM).

Another letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Bahá’í in Ethiopia encouraged him to make great effort in translating Esslemont’s book, possibly into Amharic (Shoghi Effendi, 8 July 1934, RDM). Later that year, another letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the same person expressed joy at the news of the completed translation of Esslemont’s book. The letter noted that the Guardian’s joy would be redoubled once the friends received permission to publish the translation. The addressee was told that the benefits of publishing this book were great and that he should make every effort in this regard. It was added that the effects of the book will not become evident until it is made available to the masses, and that the book is a magnet that will attract the hearts and souls (Shoghi Effendi, 14 December 1934, RDM).

In 1939, the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles wished to display one copy of each of the printed translations of Esslemont’s book at the Sunday Times Book Exhibition, being held in London. The Guardian sent no fewer than 31 then available printed translations of the book. “There are a few more translations in process of publication,” wrote Shoghi Effendi’s secretary, “among which, it will surely interest the friends to know is the Icelandic version which, it is hoped will be off the press sometime in the course of this Summer. The new revised edition of the German translation, which is being published under the auspices of the International Bahá’í Bureau in Geneva, will be soon ready and you can obtain a copy of that new edition by applying to Mrs Lynch” (Shoghi Effendi 1981, p. 130).

Shoghi Effendi asked the National Assembly to accept the 31 editions as his gift to the National Bahá’í Library at the Bahá’í Centre in London, suggesting that they be kept for any future Bahá’í exhibit which the National Assembly might propose to hold in other parts of England.

6. Esslemont’s Legacy

Towards the end of 1924, Esslemont—who by then had left his post at the Home Sanatorium—received an invitation from Shoghi Effendi to spend the winter in Haifa Arriving in the Holy Land on 21 November, he immediately devoted himself to the work of assisting the Guardian with his correspondence (Bahá’í Year Book 1925–1926, p. 133). Within a month he was helping Shoghi Effendi with the translation of Nabil’s Narrative, as well as the Tablet of Aḥmad and The Hidden Words by Bahá’u’lláh.

Martha Root met Esslemont for the first time in Haifa in April 1925, when he was seriously ill in hospital. Root noted that everything Esslemont did “bore the mark of extreme efficiency. His life was orderly. His books, his papers, everything he possessed were in their proper place; he knew exactly where they were; he knew just where to tell anyone to look for a quotation, a book, or anything else which he needed” (Root 1926, p. 718). One day when Esslemont was too unwell to work, Root said to him:

If you do not do anything, you are still doing much work every day, for your book is spreading the Bahá’í Message in every land. Many volumes of this book, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era have been sent to university and other great libraries in China and Japan. … Esperantists in Europe know the book better than any other Bahá’í book because the chapter on “Religion and Science” has been translated into Esperanto, and the edition entirely sold. If the entire book could be published in Esperanto it would find a ready sale. I have five copies of this book, in English, and they are always loaned, often they are sent on to me, from city to city. … In Vienna, Austria, at my first meeting with the Bahá’ís one young man said he was trying to learn English so that he could read Dr. Esslemont’s book. One very bright young woman, but blind, said she would translate the book into German if she could get some one to read it to her in English. She has done much translating. I told them the book was being translated into German and they were delighted.

(Root 1926, pp. 718–19)

After consultation with Shoghi Effendi and his doctors, it was agreed that Esslemont should go to the Black Forest of Germany to assist his return to health. In late May 1925 he travelled there but despite the need to rest, he worked with his hostess, Victoria von Sigsfeld, to revise the German translation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. However, having returned to Haifa, on 21 and 22 November 1925, Esslemont suffered two strokes and then succumbed to a third. In a later letter, the Guardian paid tribute to his friend’s enduring contribution to the promotion of the Bahá’í Faith:

His book … an abiding monument to his pure intention, will, alone, inspire generations yet unborn to tread the path of truth and service as steadfastly and as unostentatiously as was trodden by its beloved author. The Cause he loved so well he served even unto his last day with exemplary faith and unstinted devotion. His tenacity of faith, his high integrity, his self-effacement, his industry and painstaking labours were traits of a character the noble qualities of which will live and live forever after him. To me personally he was the warmest of friends, a trusted counsellor, an indefatigable collaborator, lovable companion.

(Shoghi Effendi 1995, pp. 97–98)

A memorial article in the Bahá’í Year Book (1925–1926) concluded:

…surely all whom he helped will forever bear in mind the inestimable benefits conferred upon them by his words, and more, perhaps, by his living example of what a true Bahá’í should be, for he was nigh unsurpassed in selflessness, in utter devotion and obedience to the Bahá’í teachings, in love and trustfulness to all his fellows.

(Bahá’í Year Book 1925–1926, p. 135)