A leading figure in the Theosophical Society, Leadbeater was a prolific author, writing on subjects ranging from Buddhism, Masonic history and the origins of Christianity through to the power of thought and the fourth dimension. Leadbeater was also the force behind Annie Besant, the discoverer and educator if Krishnamurti, and became Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church.

For all his influence Charles Leadbeater remains largely unknown as a man. This biography, first published in 1982, dispels many of the mysteries surrounding his life, and Leadbeater emerges as neither...