Mr Eternity: The Story of Arthur Stace

Shortlisted for the 2018 Australian Christian Book of the Year Award.

Almost every day for 35 years, Arthur Stace spent hours writing a single word - Eternity - on and around the streets of Sydney. Sometimes his mission took him much further afield, to country New South Wales and even to Melbourne.

Stace's identity was a mystery for more than two decades. Then, after his 'unmasking' in 1956, he became a reluctant folk hero. By the time he died, in 1967, his was a household name and the word Eternity was ingrained in the soul of Sydney. It still is.

In this long-awaited biography, the full story of Arthur Stace's life is told for the first time in vivid and often surprising detail. Drawing upon many original sources, some never before made public, this book will engross Christians and non-believers alike - anyone who loves a great Australian story.

Black and white illustrations; colour plates.

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Roy Williams won the Sydney University Medal in law in 1986 and spent 20 years in the legal profession before turning his hand to writing. His first and best-known book, God, Actually (2008), was a defence of Christianity for the educated layperson. A bestseller in Australia on release, it has since been published in Britain and North America. Roy's next two books - In God They Trust? (2013) and Post-God Nation? (2015) - focused on Australian history and society, and have been widely praised by believers and agnostics alike. Mr Eternity is his first full-length biography.

Elizabeth Meyers' father, Lisle Thompson, was the minister of Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle in Darlinghurst from 1951 to 1964 and also a dear friend and mentor of Arthur Stace. Elizabeth worked as a teacher for 26 years after attending Sydney Unversity and qualifying in early childhood/special education. She and her husband Lionel have two daughters and four grandchildren. Elizabeth has written this biography of Arthur Stace with Roy Williams to fulfil a promise to her mother, May, as Lisle Thompson received permission from Arthur to write his life story 'only after his death.'

Almost every day for 35 years, Arthur Stace spent hours writing a single word - Eternity - on and around the streets of Sydney. Sometimes his mission took him much further afield, to country New South Wales and even to Melbourne.Stace's identity was a mystery for more than two decades. Then, after his `unmasking' in 1956, he became a reluctant folk hero. By the time he died, in 1967, his was a household name and the word Eternity was ingrained in the soul of Sydney. It still is.In this long-awaited biography, the full story of Arthur Stace's life is told for the first time in vivid and often surprising detail. Drawing upon many original sources, some never before made public, this book will engross Christians and non-believers alike - anyone who loves a great Australian story.
-Publisher