Lilias Trotter moved from England to Algiers in 1888, at the age of 35, and died there in 1928. During this forty year period she developed and led The Algiers Mission Band that attempted to gather men and women for Christian worship from the Arabic speaking Muslim population.

In 1913 she became aware of the need to write specifically for those who were influenced by mysticism, and felt a strong call to bring to them what was for her “the true mysticism of the life hid in Christ in God”. By 1920, Lilias conceived of a booklet based on the seven ‘I am’ sayings in John’s gospel, since she found them especially effective in meeting spiritual needs. These sayings of Christ are presented in the order in which they come in John’s gospel, and Lilias attempts to link them to the traditional seven steps taken by members of Sufi orders in their quest for union with God.

Lilias Trotter embodied in her own life the appeal that she made in this piece of writing. Her devotion to Christ, her ability to listen to Muslims whom she served, and her eirenic tone in sharing her faith, model for Christians in the twenty first century appropriate ways to relate to Muslims. The re-publication of The Way of the Sevenfold Secret in the original Arabic along with Lilias’ English translation should enable readers to capture the essence of a woman whose legacy is vitally alive for our times.