Arnold James Freeman (1886-1972) was a British writer, philosopher, anthroposophist, adult educator, actor, director, Fabian Socialist, Labour Party candidate, and co-founder of the anthroposophic periodical, The Golden Blade. He established and became first Warden of the Sheffield Educational Settlement. In 1922 he was an organizer with Prof. Millicent Mackenzie of the large public conference, "Spiritual Values in Education and in Social Life," which took place predominantly at Manchester College, where Rudolf Steiner was able to present his ideas to a group of British educators at a conference that marked the beginning of Steiner-Waldorf education in the UK.

Freeman was a unique individual who, in his adopted home town of Sheffield, became a folk legend because of his infectious enthusiasm in promoting the arts, literature, culture and many other activities in the Sheffield Educational Settlement in the first half of the twentieth century.

This biography offers a rich and detailed account of the life of this extraordinary individual, who deserves to be more widely known for his contribution to the history of Sheffield and his work in widening the spiritual and cultural horizons of numerous individuals, as well as his contributions to Anthroposophy and its initiatives.