Violette Nakhjavani
Volume 1 (Early Years) covers the years 1870-1922, beginning with the childhood years of May Bolles and Sutherland Maxwell; their youth, their meeting and courtship in Paris; their marriage and their first pilgrimages. It tells the story of the birth of their daughter and the historic visit of â€˜Abduâ€™l-BahÃ¡ to their home in Montreal just before World War I. It also describes the early development and training of young Mary, the family's activities during the war years, the reception of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and the passing of â€˜Abduâ€™l-BahÃ¡ which ended the Heroic Age of the Baha'i Faith.,This book draws on over 1,600 personal letters between May, Sutherland and Mary Maxwell (Amatu'l-BahÃ¡ RÃºá¸¥Ã­yyih KhÃ¡num), together with about 1,400 letters which the three Maxwells exchanged with their relatives and some of the early BahÃ¡â€™Ã­s. It includes citations from the 195 Tablets, letters and cables from â€˜Abduâ€™l-BahÃ¡, Shoghi Effendi, and the Greatest Holy Leaf to members of the family, which have never been transcribed before. It also contains extracts from RÃºá¸¥Ã­yyih KhÃ¡num's notebooks, the memoirs of her mother, sketches made by her father, and articles and photographs related to the period.
The Maxwells of Montreal, Early Years 1870 - 1922