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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Annie Besant
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(Annie Wood, 1847–1933, m. Frank Besant 1867) A whirlwind of energy in a wealth of causes. She campaigned with Charles *Bradlaugh for atheism and free speech; their publication of a deliberately provocative pamphlet on birth control led to prosecution and to her being deprived of her children. Later she was one of the founders of the *Fabian Society. These interests were dropped in 1889 when she discovered mysticism through the theosophy of Mme Blavatsky, and this in turn directed her attention towards India. By 1918 she was president of the Theosophical Society, president of the Indian National Congress and adoptive mother of a messiah-figure, Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986), whom she proclaimed to be the reincarnate Buddha.
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