First published in Arabic in 1933, Return of the Spirit follows a patriotic young Egyptian and his extended family as they grapple with the events leading up to the 1919 Egyptian revolution. This is a trail-blazing political novel that illustrates the way one man's spiritual awakening ties in with the political awakening of a nation.
When Mr Crawley, curate of Hogglestock, is falsely accused of theft he suffers bitterly with his family. Crawley is an ambiguous character however, and he himself seems to bring about most of his suffering.