Annie Besant – A Character Sketch

By William Thomas Stead (1849 - 1912).

100 Pages | First edition 1946, first reprint 1993 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170592440.

Well-known humanist and journalist W.T. Stead writes of Annie Besant (1847 - 1933): 'there are few living women, who have in them more of some elements of the Christian saint, than this fiery assailant of the Christian creed.' He traces the various phases of her search for truth as also the challenges she faces.

From the Foreword by C. Jinarājadāsa (1875 - 1953) (p. viii):

" At last, sitting alone in deep thought as I (Annie Besant) had become accustomed to do after the sun had set, filled with an intense but nearly hopeless longing to solve the riddle of life and mind, I heard a Voice, that was later to become to me the holiest sound on earth, bidding me take courage for the light was near. A fortnight passed, and then Mr. Stead gave into my hands two volumes. 'Can you review these? My young men all fight shy of them, but you are quite mad enough on these subjects to make something out of them.' I took the books; they were the two volumes of The Secret Doctrine written by H.P. Blavatsky.   .   .   . I wrote the review, and asked Mr. Stead for an introduction to the writer, and then sent a note asking to be allowed to call. I received the most cordial of notes, bidding me to come (pp340 - 1). "