This is the first comprehensive account of the life of Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, who is generally known as the first French Bahá’í. He was one of the few Western Bahá’ís who had a deep understanding of the tenets of the Faith, thanks to his close, thirty-year association with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Prophet-Founder of the Faith; and Shoghi Effendi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s grandson who led the Faith after His passing. By virtue of his ability to read Persian and Arabic and his numerous publications, translations, and public talks, Hippolyte was recognized by prominent orientalists as the first Bahá’í scholar in the West. His Essai sur le Béhaisme, published in 1909, was, for a very long time, considered the most comprehensive and accurate presentation of the Faith.