Annie Besant
Annie Besant | |
---|---|
Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator | |
Political party | Indian National Congress Social Democratic Federation |
Movement | Indian independence movement |
Spouse |
Frank Besant
(m. 1867; div. 1873) |
Children | Arthur, Mabel, Jiddu Krishnamurti (adopted) |
Part of a series on |
Theosophy |
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Annie Besant ( She became the first female president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
For fifteen years, Besant was a public proponent in
In 1890 Besant met
Besant also became involved in politics in India, joining the
Early life
Annie Wood was born on 1 October 1847 in
Annie's father died when she was five years old, leaving a son, Henry Trueman Wood, and one daughter. Her mother supported Henry's education at
In summer 1867, Annie and her mother stayed at
Failure of the marriage
The Rev. Frank Besant was a graduate of
Money was short and Frank Besant was parsimonious. Annie was sure a third child would impose too much on the family finances.[5] She wrote short stories, books for children, and articles, the money she earned being controlled by her husband.
Besant began to question her own faith, after her daughter Mabel was seriously ill in 1871.
The Besants made an effort to repair the marriage. The tension came to a head when Annie refused to attend Communion, which Frank demanded, now fearing for his own reputation and position in the Church.[5] In 1873 she left him and went to London. She had a temporary place to stay, with Moncure Conway.[16] The Scotts found her a small house in Colby Road, Upper Norwood.[17]
The couple were legally separated and Annie took her daughter Mabel with her, the agreement of 25 October 1873 giving her custody. Annie remained Mrs. Besant for the rest of her life. At first, she was able to keep contact with both children and to have Mabel live with her; she also got a small allowance from her husband. In 1878 Frank Besant successfully argued her unfitness, after Annie's public campaigning on
Reformer and secularist
Besant began in 1874 to write for the National Reformer, the organ of the National Secular Society (NSS), run by Charles Bradlaugh.[16] She also continued to write for Thomas Scott's small press.[5] On the account given by W. T. Stead, Besant had encountered the National Reformer on sale in the shop of Edward Truelove.[19] Besant had heard of Bradlaugh from Moncure Conway.[16] She wrote to Bradlaugh and was accepted as an NSS member. She first heard him speak on 2 August 1874.[19] Through Bradlaugh, Besant met and became a supporter of Joseph Arch, the farmworkers' leader.[20]
Her career as a platform speaker began on 25 August 1874, with topic "The Political Status of Women".
Criticism of Christianity
Besant opined that for centuries the leaders of Christian thought spoke of women as a necessary evil and that the greatest saints of the Church were those who despised women the most, "Against the teachings of eternal torture, of the vicarious atonement, of the infallibility of the Bible, I leveled all the strength of my brain and tongue, and I exposed the history of the Christian Church with unsparing hand, its persecutions, its religious wars, its cruelties, its oppressions. (Annie Besant, An Autobiography Chapter VII)." In the section named "Its Evidences Unreliable" of her work "Christianity", Besant presents the case of why the Gospels are not authentic: "before about A.D. 180 there is no trace of FOUR gospels among the Christians."[26]
The Fruits of Philosophy
Besant and Bradlaugh set up the Freethought Publishing Company at the beginning of 1877;
We intend to publish nothing we do not think we can morally defend. All that we publish we shall defend.[29]
The pair were arrested and put on trial for publishing the Knowlton book. They were found guilty but released pending appeal. The trial became a cause célèbre, and ultimately the verdict was overturned on a technical legal point.[30]
Besant was then instrumental in founding the
Radical causes
Besant was a leading member of the National Secular Society alongside Charles Bradlaugh.
Bradlaugh was elected to Parliament in 1881. Because of his atheism, he asked to be allowed to affirm, rather than swear the oath of loyalty. It took more than six years before the matter was completely resolved, in Bradlaugh's favour, after a series of by-elections and court appearances. He was an individualist and opposed to socialism in any form. While he defended free speech, he was very cautious about encouraging working-class militancy.[38][39]
Edward Aveling, a rising star in the National Secular Society, tutored Besant during 1879, and she went on to a degree course at London University.[5][40] Then, 1879 to 1882, she was a student of physical sciences at Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution. Embarrassed by her activist reputation, the Institution omitted her name from the published list of graduands, and mailed her certificates to her.[41] When Aveling in a speech in 1884 announced he had become a socialist after five years close study, Besant argued that his politics over that whole period had been aligned with Bradlaugh's and her own.[42] Aveling and Eleanor Marx joined the Social Democratic Federation, followers of Marxism, and then the Socialist League, a small Marxist splinter group which formed around the artist William Morris. In 1883 Besant started her own periodical, Our Corner.[43] It was a literary and in time a socialist monthly, and published George Bernard Shaw's novel The Irrational Knot in serial form.[27]
Meanwhile, Besant built close contacts with the Irish Home Rulers and supported them in her newspaper columns during what are considered crucial years, when the Irish nationalists were forming an alliance with Liberals and Radicals. Besant met the leaders of the Irish home rule movement. In particular, she got to know Michael Davitt, who wanted to mobilise the Irish peasantry through a Land War, a direct struggle against the landowners. She spoke and wrote in favour of Davitt and his Land League many times over the coming decades.
Personal life
Bradlaugh's family circumstances changed in May 1877 with the death of his wife Susannah, an alcoholic who had left him for James Thomson. His two children, Alice then aged 21, and Hypatia then 19, returned to live with him from his in-laws. He had been able to take a house in St John's Wood in February of that year, at 20 Circus Road, near Besant. They continued what had become a close friendship.[44]
Fabian Society 1885–1890
Besant made an abrupt public change in her political views, at the 1885 New Year's Day meeting of the London Dialectical Society, founded by
The Fabians were defining political goals, rejecting
Besant's involvement in the
William Morris played some part in converting Besant to Marxism, but it was to the Social Democratic Federation of Hyndman, not his Socialist League, that she turned in 1888. She remained a member for a number of years and became one of its leading speakers. She was still a member of the Fabian Society, the two movements being compatible at the time. Besant was elected to the London School Board in 1888.[55] Women at that time were not able to take part in parliamentary politics but had been brought into the London local electorate in 1881. Besant drove about with a red ribbon in her hair, speaking at meetings. "No more hungry children", her manifesto proclaimed. She combined her socialist principles with feminism:
"I ask the electors to vote for me, and the non-electors to work for me because women are wanted on the Board and there are too few women candidates."
From the early 1880s Besant had also been an important feminist leader in London, with
"Ten years ago, under a cruel law, Christian bigotry robbed me of my little child. Now the care of the 763,680 children of London is placed partly in my hands."[59]
Financial constraints meant that Besant closed down both Our Corner and The Link at the end of 1888.[60]
Besant was further involved in the
Theosophy
In 1889, Besant was asked to write a review for the Pall Mall Gazette
In her Autobiography, Besant follows her chapter on "Socialism" with "Through Storm to Peace", the peace of Theosophy. In 1888, she described herself as "marching toward the Theosophy" that would be the "glory" of her life. Besant had found the economic side of life lacking a spiritual dimension, so she searched for a belief based on "Love". She found this in Theosophy, so she joined the Theosophical Society, a move that distanced her from Bradlaugh and other former activist co-workers.[64] When Blavatsky died in 1891, Besant was left as one of the leading figures in theosophy and in 1893 she represented it at the Chicago World Fair.[65]
In 1893, soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society, she went to India for the first time.
In 1893, she was a representative of The Theosophical Society at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The World Parliament is famous in India because Indian monk Swami Vivekananda addressed the same event.
In 1895, together with the founder-president of the Theosophical Society, Henry Steel Olcott, as well as Marie Musaeus Higgins and Peter De Abrew, she was instrumental in developing the Buddhist school, Musaeus College, in Colombo on the island of Sri Lanka.
Co-freemasonry
Besant saw freemasonry, in particular Co-Freemasonry, as an extension of her interest in the rights of women and the greater brotherhood of man and saw co-freemasonry as a "movement which practised true brotherhood, in which women and men worked side by side for the perfecting of humanity. She immediately wanted to be admitted to this organisation", known now as the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, "Le Droit Humain".
The link was made in 1902 by the theosophist Francesca Arundale, who accompanied Besant to Paris, along with six friends. "They were all initiated, passed, and raised into the first three degrees and Annie returned to England, bearing a Charter and founded there the first Lodge of International Mixed Masonry, Le Droit Humain." Besant eventually became the Order's Most Puissant Grand Commander and was a major influence in the international growth of the Order.[68]
President of Theosophical Society
Besant met fellow theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater in London in April 1894. They became close co-workers in the theosophical movement and would remain so for the rest of their lives. Leadbeater claimed clairvoyance and reputedly helped Besant become clairvoyant herself in the following year. In a letter dated 25 August 1895 to Francisca Arundale, Leadbeater narrates how Besant became clairvoyant. Together they clairvoyantly investigated the universe, matter, thought-forms, and the history of mankind, and co-authored a book called Occult Chemistry.
In 1906 Leadbeater became the centre of controversy when it emerged that he had advised the practice of masturbation to some boys under his care and spiritual instruction. Leadbeater stated he had encouraged the practice to keep the boys celibate, which was considered a prerequisite for advancement on the spiritual path.[69] Because of the controversy, he offered to resign from the Theosophical Society in 1906, which was accepted. The next year Besant became president of the society and in 1908, with her express support, Leadbeater was readmitted to the society. Leadbeater went on to face accusations of improper relations with boys, but none of the accusations were ever proven and Besant never deserted him.[70]
Until Besant's presidency, the society had as one of its foci Theravada Buddhism and the island of Sri Lanka, where Henry Olcott did the majority of his useful work.[71] Under Besant's leadership there was more stress on the teachings of "The Aryavarta", as she called central India, as well as on esoteric Christianity.[72]
Besant set up a new school for boys, the
Blavatsky had stated in 1889 that the main purpose of establishing the society was to prepare humanity for the future reception of a "torch-bearer of Truth", an emissary of a hidden
"World Teacher" project
In 1909, soon after Besant's assumption of the presidency, Leadbeater "discovered" fourteen-year-old
In 1929, twenty years after his "discovery", Krishnamurti, who had grown disenchanted with the World Teacher Project, repudiated the role that many theosophists expected him to fulfil. He dissolved the Order of the Star in the East, an organisation founded to assist the World Teacher in his mission, and eventually left the Theosophical Society and theosophy at large.[80] He spent the rest of his life travelling the world as an unaffiliated speaker, becoming in the process widely known as an original, independent thinker on philosophical, psychological, and spiritual subjects. His love for Besant never waned, as also was the case with Besant's feelings towards him;[81] concerned for his wellbeing after he declared his independence, she had purchased 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land near the Theosophical Society estate which later became the headquarters of the Krishnamurti Foundation India.
Home Rule movement
As early as 1902 Besant had written that "India is not ruled for the prospering of the people, but rather for the profit of her conquerors, and her sons are being treated as a conquered race." She encouraged Indian national consciousness, attacked
In 1914, World War I broke out, and Britain asked for the support of its Empire in the fight against Germany. Echoing an Irish nationalist slogan, Besant declared, "England's need is India's opportunity". As editor of the New India newspaper, she attacked the colonial government of India and called for clear and decisive moves towards self-rule. As with Ireland, the government refused to discuss any changes while the war lasted.[citation needed]
In 1916, Besant launched the
The government was forced to give way and to make vague but significant concessions. It was announced that the ultimate aim of British rule was Indian self-government, and moves in that direction were promised. Besant was freed in September 1917, welcomed by crowds all over India,[85][86] and in December she took over as president of the Indian National Congress for a year. Both Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi spoke of Besant's influence with admiration.[82]
After the war, a new leadership of the Indian National Congress emerged around Mahatma Gandhi – one of those who had written to demand Besant's release. He was a lawyer who had returned from leading Asians in a peaceful struggle against racism in South Africa. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi's closest collaborator, had been educated by a theosophist tutor.
The new leadership was committed to action that was both militant and non-violent, but there were differences between them and Besant. Despite her past, she was not happy with their socialist leanings. Until the end of her life, however, she continued to campaign for India's independence, not only in India but also on speaking tours of Britain.[87] In her own version of Indian dress, she remained a striking presence on speakers' platforms. She produced a torrent of letters and articles demanding independence.
Later years and death
Besant tried as a person, theosophist, and president of the Theosophical Society, to accommodate Krishnamurti's views into her life, without success; she vowed to personally follow him in his new direction although she apparently had trouble understanding both his motives and his new message.[88] The two remained friends until the end of her life.
In 1931, she became ill in India.[89]
Besant died on 20 September 1933, at age 85, in Adyar, Madras Presidency, British India. Her body was cremated.[90][91]
She was survived by her daughter,
Works
Besides being a prolific writer, Besant was a "practised
List of Works on Online Books Annie Besant (Besant, Annie, 1847-1933) | The Online Books Page
List of Work on Open Library Annie Wood Besant
- The Political Status of Women (1874)[92]
- Christianity: Its Evidences, Its Origin, Its Morality, Its History (1876)
- The Law of Population (1877)
- My Path to Atheism (1878, 3rd ed 1885)
- Marriage, As It Was, As It Is, And As It Should Be: A Plea for Reform (1878)
- The Atheistic Platform: 12 Lectures One by Besant (1884)
- Autobiographical Sketches (1885)
- Why I Am a Socialist (1886)
- Why I Became a Theosophist (1889)
- The Seven Principles of Man (1892)
- Bhagavad Gita (translated as The Lord's Song) (1895)
- Karma (1895)
- In the Outer Court(1895)
- The Ancient Wisdom (1897)
- Dharma (1898)
- Evolution of Life and Form (1898)
- Avatâras (1900)
- The Religious Problem in India (1901)
- Thought Power: Its Control and Culture (1901)
- A Study in Consciousness: A contribution to the science of psychology. (1904)
- Theosophy and the new psychology: A course of six lectures (1904)
- C. W. Leadbeater (1905)[93]
- Esoteric Christianity (1905 2nd ed)
- Death - and After? (1906)
- C. W. Leadbeater (1908) Occult chemistry;: clairvoyant observations on the chemical elements
- An Introduction to Yoga (1908) An introduction to yoga; four lectures delivered at the 32nd anniversary of the Theosophical Society, held at Benares, on Dec. 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 1907
- Australian Lectures (1908)
- Annie Besant: An Autobiography (1908 2nd ed)
- The Religious Problem in India Lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, Theosophy (1909) The religious problem in India: four lectures delivered during the twenty-sixth annual convention of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, 1901
- Man and His Bodies (1896, rpt 1911) Theosophy: Man and His Bodies by Annie Besant
- Elementary Lessons on Karma (1912)
- A Study in Karma (1912)
- Initiation: The Perfecting of Man (1912) Theosophy: Initiation The Perfecting of Man by Annie Besant - MahatmaCWLeadbeater.org
- Giordano Bruno (1913)
- Man's Life in This and Other Worlds (1913) Man's life in this and other worlds
- The Doctrine of the Heart (1920) Theosophy: Doctrine of the Heart by Annie Besant
- The Future of Indian Politics 1922
- The Life and Teaching of Muhammad (1932) Annie Besant The Life And Teachings Of Muhammad ( The Prophet Of Islam)
- Memory and Its Nature (1935) Memory and Its Nature - by Annie Besant & H.P.Blavatsky - Adyar Pamphlets No. 203 & 204
- Various writings regarding Helena Blavatsky (1889–1910) Blavatsky Archives contains 100s of articles on HP Blavatsky & Theosophy
- Selection of Pamphlets as follows: Pamphlets
- "Sin and Crime" (1885)
- "God's Views on Marriage" (1890)
- "A World Without God" (1885)
- "Life, Death, and Immortality" (1886)
- "Theosophy" (1925?)
- "The World and Its God" (1886)
- "Atheism and Its Bearing on Morals" (1887)
- "On Eternal Torture" (n.d.)
- "The Fruits of Christianity" (n.d.)
- "The Jesus of the Gospels and the Influence of Christianity" (n.d.)
- "The Gospel of Christianity and the Gospel of Freethought" (1883)
- "Sins of the Church: Threatenings and Slaughters" (n.d.)
- "For the Crown and Against the Nation" (1886)
- "Christian Progress" (1890)
- "Why I Do Not Believe in God" (1887)
- "The Myth of the Resurrection" (1886)
- "The Teachings of Christianity" (1887)
Indian National Movement
Recognition in popular media
On 1 October 2015, search engine Google commemorated Annie Besant with a Doodle on her 168th birth anniversary. Google commented: "A fierce advocate of Indian self-rule, Annie Besant loved the language, and over a lifetime of vigorous study cultivated tremendous abilities as a writer and orator. She published mountains of essays, wrote a textbook, curated anthologies of classic literature for young adults and eventually became editor of the New India newspaper, a periodical dedicated to the cause of Indian Autonomy".[95]
In his book, Rebels Against the Raj, Ramchandra Guha tells the story of how Besant and six other foreigners served India in its quest for independence from the British Raj.[96]
Besant also appears as a character in the children's novel Billy and the Match Girl by Paul Haston, a magical realism about the 1888 Matchgirls Strike. The book was long listed for the 2020 Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators & Performers (CANSCAIP) Writing For Children Competition.
See also
- Agni Yoga
- Alice Bailey
- Annie Besant School Allahabad
- Benjamin Creme
- Helena Roerich
- History of feminism
- Order of the Star in the East
- Theosophy and Christianity
- Theosophy and visual arts
References
- ^ a b c "BBC - History - Annie Besant". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Annie Besant, Making Britain". www.open.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Besant, Annie: Theosophy World". theosophy.world. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Besant, Arthur Digby (1930). The Besant Pedigree. London: Besant & Co. p. 455.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30735. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 9781608992621.
- ISBN 9780857281944.
- ^ Besant, Annie Wood (1893). Annie Besant : an autobiography. London : T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 71–72.
- JSTOR 1409644.
- ^ "Besant, Frank (BSNT859F)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ISBN 978-3-375-04550-0.
- ^ Besant, Annie Wood (1893). Annie Besant : an autobiography. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 81.
- ^ Besant, Annie Wood (1893). Annie Besant : an autobiography. London : T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 109–112.
- ^ Besant, Annie Wood (1893). Annie Besant : an autobiography. London: T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 106–107.
- ^ Goolrick, John Tackett (1922). Historic Fredericksburg; the story of an old town. Richmond, Va., Printed by Whittet & Shepperson. p. 100.
- ^ ISBN 0704332515.
- ^ Besant, Annie Wood (1893). Annie Besant : an autobiography. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 120.
- ^ "Besant, Arthur Digby". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b Stead, William Thomas (1891). Mrs. Annie Besant. p. 360.
- ^ Arch, Joseph; Warwick, Frances Evelyn Maynard Greville (1898). Joseph Arch. The story of his life. London: Hutchinson. p. 124.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ Pécastaing-Boissière, Muriel (2017). "Annie Besant (1847-1933): Struggles and Quest". Theosophical Publishing House Limited. p. 79.
- ISBN 978-0-19-762822-5.
- ^ a b Mark Bevir, The Making of British Socialism (Princeton University, 2011), 202.
- ^ Cole, Margaret (1961). The Story of Fabian Socialism. University Press. p. 8.
- ^ 1876: "Christianity", The freethinker's text-book, Part II. (Issued by authority of the National Secular Society)
- ^ ISBN 978-90-382-1340-8.
- OCLC 626706770. A publication about birth control. View original copy.
- OL 26315876M.
- ISBN 978-0-7618-7343-3.
- PMID 11630505.
- ISBN 978-0-8142-0257-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8142-0257-9.
- ISBN 978-90-420-0851-9.
- ^ Pécastaing-Boissière, Muriel (2017). "Annie Besant (1847-1933): Struggles and Quest". Theosophical Publishing House Limited. pp. 106, 167, 156.
- ^ MacKillop, I. D. (1986) The British Ethical Societies, Cambridge University Press. Accessed 13 May 2014.
- ^ "Random Recollections of Leicester Secular Society". leicestersecularsociety.org.uk.
- ^ Theresa Notare, A Revolution in Christian Morals: Lambeth 1930-Resolution #15. History and Reception (ProQuest, 2008), 188.
- ^ "The Socialist Roots of Birth Control". tribunemag.co.uk.
- ISBN 0704332515.
- ^ Pécastaing-Boissière, Muriel (2017). "Annie Besant (1847-1933): Struggles and Quest". Theosophical Publishing House Limited. pp. 112–113.
- ISBN 978-1-78663-594-5.
- ^ Pécastaing-Boissière, Muriel (2017). "Annie Besant (1847-1933): Struggles and Quest". Theosophical Publishing House Limited. p. 166.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3183. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ ISBN 0704332515.
- ISBN 978-0-271-01548-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-0783-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4616-3622-9.
- ISBN 978-0-691-17372-6.
- ^ Sally Peters, Bernard Shaw: The Ascent of the Superman (Yale University, 1996), 94.
- ^ Kumar, Raj, Annie Besant's Rise to Power in Indian Politics, 1914–1917 (Concept Publishing, 1981), 36.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-8041-8.
- ^ "White slavery in London" The Link, Issue no. 21 (via Tower Hamlets' Local History Library and Archives)
- ISBN 978-1-4411-2104-2.
- ^ Edward R. Pease, The History of the Fabian Society (E. P. Dutton, 1916, rpt Aware Journalism, 2014), 179.
- ISBN 978-1-350-13661-8.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-8041-8.
- ISBN 978-1-134-34191-7.
- ^ Jyoti Chandra, Annie Besant: from theosophy to nationalism (K.K. Publications, 2001), 17.
- ^ Pécastaing-Boissière, Muriel (2017). "Annie Besant (1847-1933): Struggles and Quest". Theosophical Publishing House Limited. p. 188.
- ^ Margaret Cole, The Story of Fabian Socialism (Stanford University, 1961), 34.
- ^ Lutyens, Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening, Avon/Discus. 1983. p 13
- ISBN 0704332515.
- ^ Annie Besant, Annie Besant: an Autobiography (Unwin 1908), 330, 338, 340, 344, 357.
- ^ Emmett A. Greenwalt, The Point Loma Community in California, 1897–1942: A Theosophical Experiment (University of California, 1955), 10.
- ^ Kumari Jayawardena, The White Woman's Other Burden (Routledge, 1995, 62.)
- ^ Ramakrishnan, Venkatesh (19 May 2019). "Annie Besant: Firebrand Marxist to 'Devi Vasanthe' of Theosophists". dtNext.in. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ The International Bulletin, 20 September 1933, The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain. "In a very short time, Sister Besant founded new lodges: three in London, three in the south of England, three in the North and North-West; she even organised one in Scotland. Travelling in 1904 with her sisters and brothers she met in the Netherlands, other brethren of male obedience, who, being interested, collaborated in the further expansion of Le Droit Humain. Annie continued to work with such ardour that soon new lodges were formed in Great Britain, South America, Canada, India, Ceylon, Australia, and New Zealand. The lodges in all these countries were united under the name of the British Federation."
- ^ Charles Webster Leadbeater 1854–1934: A Biographical Study, by Gregory John Tillett, 2008 Archived 3 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISSN 0140-0460.
- ^ Blavatsky and Olcott had become Buddhists in Sri Lanka and promoted Buddhist revival on the subcontinent. See also: Maha Bodhi Society.
- ^ M. K. Singh, Encyclopaedia Of Indian War Of Independence (1857–1947) (Anmol Publications, 2009) 118.
- ^ Kumari Jayawardena, The White Woman's Other Burden (Routledge, 1995), 128.
- ^ Blavatsky, H. P. (1889). The Key to Theosophy. London: The Theosophical Publishing Company. pp. 306–307.
- ^ Lutyens, p. 12.
- ISBN 978-0-88946-523-7.
- ISBN 0-374-18222-1.
- ^ Lutyens ch. 7.
- ^ Lutyens p. 5. Also in p. 31, Krishnamurti's letter to Besant dated 24 December 1909, and in p. 62, letter dated 5 January 1913.
- ^ Lutyens pp. 276–278, 285.
- ISBN 0-900506-22-9.
- ^ OCLC 54047029.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 192.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ Jennifer S. Uglow, Maggy Hendry, The Northeastern Dictionary of Women's Biography (Northeastern University, 1999).
- ^ Lutyens pp. 236, 278–280.
- ^ "Mrs. Annie Besant, 84, Is Gravely Ill in India. Leader of Theosophists Says Work in This Life Is Done, but Promises to Return". The New York Times. Associated Press. 6 November 1931. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
Mrs. Annie Besant, 84-year-old Theosophist, is so ill, it was learned today, that she is unable to take nourishment.
- ^ "Annie Besant Cremated. Theosophist Leader's Body Put on Pyre on River Bank in India". The New York Times. 22 September 1933. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- Sydney Morning Herald. 22 September 1933. p. 12 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ The Political Status of Women (1874) was Besant's first public lecture. Carol Hanbery MacKay, Creative Negativity: Four Victorian Exemplars of the Female Quest (Stanford University, 2001), 116–117.
- ^ Crow, John L (July–October 2012). "Thought Forms: A Bibliographic Error" (PDF). Theosophical History: A Quarterly Journal of Research. 16 (3–4): 126–127. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ a b "ANNIE BESANT (1847–1933) | TS Adyar". www.ts-adyar.org. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Annie Besant's 168th Birthday". Google. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Ramachandra Guha: I haven't written Rebels Against the Raj to influence Indians on their political preferences". Firstpost. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
Further reading
- Briggs, Julia. A Woman of Passion: The Life of E. Nesbit. New Amsterdam Books, 2000, 68, 81–82, 92–96, 135–139
- Chandrasekhar, S. A Dirty, Filthy Book: The Writing of Charles Knowlton and Annie Besant on Reproductive Physiology and Birth Control and an Account of the Bradlaugh-Besant Trial. University of California Berkeley 1981
- Grover, Verinder and Ranjana Arora (eds.) Annie Besant: Great Women of Modern India – 1: Published by Deep of Deep Publications, New Delhi, India, 1993
- Kumar, Raj Rameshwari Devi and Romila Pruthi. Annie Besant: Founder of Home Rule Movement, Pointer Publishers, 2003 ISBN 81-7132-321-9
- Kumar, Raj, Annie Besant's Rise to Power in Indian Politics, 1914–1917. Concept Publishing, 1981
- Manvell, Roger. The trial of Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh. Elek, London 1976
- Nethercot, Arthur H. The first five lives of Annie Besant Hart-Davis: London, 1961
- Nethercot, Arthur H. The last four lives of Annie Besant Hart-Davis: London (also University of Chicago Press 1963) ISBN 0-226-57317-6
- Taylor, Anne. Annie Besant: A Biography, Oxford University Press, 1991 (also US edition 1992) ISBN 0-19-211796-3
- Uglow, Jennifer S., Maggy Hendry, The Northeastern Dictionary of Women's Biography. Northeastern University, 1999
External links
- Annie Besant Biography at varanasi.org.in
- Annie Besant's Multifaceted Personality. A Biographical Sketch
- Annie Besant's Quest for Truth: Christianity, Secularism, and New Age Thought
- Framke, Maria: Besant, Annie, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- Newspaper clippings about Annie Besant in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- The British Federation of the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain, founded by Annie Besant in 1902
- The International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain
- Annie Besant perused 2000 words in the Odia language
- Thought power, its control, and culture Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.
- Works by Annie Besant at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Annie Besant at Open Library
- Works by Annie Besant at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Annie Besant at Internet Archive