[3] In her early twenties, Trotter and her mother were greatly influenced by the Higher Life Movement, and Lilias joined the volunteer force that counseled inquirers during the London campaign meetings of American evangelist Dwight L.

[4] Although Trotter was a nearly self-taught artist, her mother believed her talent exceptional, and in 1876, she sent some of Lilias' drawings to art critic and social philosopher John Ruskin while all three were staying in Venice—the latter while recovering from the early death of Rose La Touche, a young pupil to whom he had proposed marriage.

[10] In 1884, suffering from physical and emotional exhaustion, she underwent surgery which, though "slight in nature … left her very ill." Apparently her heart was permanently damaged in the process.

[11] During the next few years, Trotter felt an impulse toward missionary work in non-Christian lands, even telling one of her friends that "whenever she prayed, the words 'North Africa' sounded in her soul as though a voice were calling her.

Trotter recalled, "Three of us stood there, looking at our battle-field, none of us fit to pass a doctor for any society, not knowing a soul in the place, or a sentence of Arabic or a clue for beginning work on untouched ground; we only knew we had to come.

[17] Later Trotter said that the early years were like "knocking our heads against stone walls," but the women were indefatigable, trying one technique after another in an attempt to make inroads into the Algerian culture and all the while improving their Arabic.

[23] Trotter was sensitive to the contemporary difficulty of a woman exerting authority over a man, but as the staff included more men, she shrewdly refined "the organizational system to capitalize on their leadership.

Trotter designed cards that had biblical passages drawn by an Arab scribe because "no one but a native can give the subtle lines & curves of the writing as they should be."

[27] Though she considered orthodox Islam "dry as the dune, hard as the gravel," she responded to the "sincere hunger for things of the spirit" in the Sufi mystics and wrote for them The Way of the Sevenfold Secret as a devotional guide based on the seven "I am" statements found in the Gospel of John.

[28] Confined to bed during her last years, Trotter devoted herself to prayer, writing, and sketching while continuing to manage the affairs of the Algiers Mission Band as best she could.

[30] As her body failed, her mind remained clear, even at the end asking prayer for the strength to dictate a letter to Amy Carmichael of India, with whom she had regular correspondence.