Atheism to Theosophy*

THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM--Gertrude Marvin Williams--Coward-McCann ($3.50).

Annie Wood Besant (rhymes with either incessant or pleasant) is an old woman (83) popularly associated with occult ritual and mystic robes. She is still president of the Theosophical Society, but perhaps you didn't realize she was once a parson's wife, an atheist, a Socialist, a beautiful spellbinder.

Said her friend, the late Journalist William Thomas Stead: "She could not be the bride of Heaven, and therefore became the bride of Mr. Frank Besant. He was hardly an adequate substitute." But Annie Besant did not long remain the compliant wife of a Victorian country vicar.

She up and left him, went to London, heard Atheist Charles Bradlaugh preach, became his right-hand woman. Fourteen years she wrote and harangued for Free Thought, finally saw Bradlaugh seated in Parliament. Once they stood trial together for publishing a birth-control pamphlet. Convicted, they appealed and this time won; sold 185,000 copies of the book in three years.

But atheism was not enough. Still seeking, Mrs. Besant became a Socialist, joined the Fabian Society, and organized the first successful strike among English working women. One day she reviewed a big two-volume book, The Secret Doctrine by Mme H. P. Blavatsky. It excited her; she went to meet the author, succumbed to Theosophy. Her rise as usual was rapid. Long secretary of the Society, at 60 she was made president. Theosophist headquarters are at Adyar, Madras, India, and there Mrs. Besant has lived off & on for 40 years. Considering herself a Hindu by adoption, she early championed Indian nationalism, at 70 was elected president of the Indian National Congress. Never lazy, at 80 she toured Europe by airplane, visited 13 countries, gave 56 lectures in 21 days.

The U. S. knows Mrs. Besant as sponsor of Jiddu Krishnamurti, much-touted Theosophist Messiah, who recently went back on his backers by announcing that organization is wrong, individuality best. An apocryphal story (which Biographer Williams does not include) tells how Mrs. Besant tried to get Krishnamurti into Oxford. Applying first to the Warden of New College (the late famed Canon William Archibald Spooner), she described her charge as an incarnation of God. The Warden blenched, categorically refused to admit such a Presence, which might prove embarrassing to the other undergraduates. The Master of Balliol shook his head regretfully, said they had had a great many famous people at Balliol but would have to draw the line somewhere. The president of Magdalen shook hands warmly, said he would be delighted, assured Mrs. Besant her ward would be able to mingle with the other undergraduates on terms of perfect equality. Krishnamurti went, however, to no college, was privately tutored in London.

Theosophy theoretically has no dogmas, is defined by Mrs. Besant as "the body of truths which form the basis of all religions and which can not be claimed as the exclusive possession of any." It has three Objects: "1) To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color. 2) To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science. 3) To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the power latent in man." But Theosophists believe in many a dogmatic mystery, among them reincarnation. Mrs. Besant in previous incarnations has been sister and wife to the same being; husband, son and son-in-law to another; king of southern and northern India. At present she is a still energetic old woman who stands as temporal Head to some 43,000 scattered Theosophists.

Super-Etonian

DUMB-ANIMAL--Osbert Sitwell--Lippincott ($2.50).

England's Sitwell trio (Osbert, Edith, Sacheverell), sophisticated rather than passionate poets, conceal their artistry beneath Sitwellian artificiality that annoys many a plain person, delights their devotees and themselves. But occasionally, as in Brother Osbert's Dumb-Animal stories, humanity cracks the super-Etonian veneer, sentiment overcomes even a Sitwell and enables him to communicate with you.

Though most are not autobiographical in tone, these stories are told by a first-person narrator. Some of them:

A sensitive little boy develops a horror of dogs because he is forbidden to play with a mongrel he loves. He stones the little dog away from him.

A charming woman-about-Europe, secret but conscious hostess of innumerable bacteria, leaves behind her a fantastic trail of death & disease.

A U. S. title-huntress, wearying of her successful hunting, echoes the personality of each new lover in the kaleidoscopic re-furnishings of her house.

A successfully romantic poet nearly alienates the affections of his wide audience by failing to die young, at the appropriate zenith; finally realizing what is required of him he announces his death, spends the rest of his life in hiding.

In "Happy Endings," best story in the book, the narrator describes his pre-War crammer's school for the Army, the queer lives of its personnel, what happy endings the late great War brought to them.

Osbert Sitwell, polite writer, never prints an ill-bred remark, never lets his feelings run away with him. To many a critic he seems to lack the generosity of passion; but his chilly wit is often piercing. Of the playing fields of Eton he says: "But then one must remember, that which one did not realize at the time: education in Europe was, unconsciously, a preparation for death, not for life. Events proved it right. They died, as the saying goes, like gentlemen: which was the object of their education."

In Dumb-Animal's English edition Author Sitwell has appended pages of English press comment on his previous work, some flattering, some not. Unflattering examples: ". . . merely caddish," ". . . snobbish, too."

Wolf of the Desert

A NIGHT IN KURDISTAN--Jean-Richard Bloch--Simon & Schuster ($2.50).*

Saad was called "the son of the bitch" for the simple reason that his mother had been a Christian, captured by the tribe on one of their forays against those dogs. As his father was an able warrior, Saad was only half-handicapped. But Saad's spirit was proud, and he resented fiercely his anomalous position. When his tribe meditated a raid against the fat town of Kasir, Saad was sent ahead as a spy to do what he could when his elders and betters stormed the place.

Saad did better than well. Disguised as a peddler, cunningly he insinuated himself into the house of Kasir's chief citizen. But when he met the eyes of Evanthia, daughter of the house, he had need of all his Arab cunning. When the household was asleep and Saad's duty was to escape to the city walls, not Evanthia but Evanthia's mother lured him to her room. Honor and duty both satisfied. Saad played an Arab hero's part in the ensuing pillage. Somehow Evanthia escaped him, but back in the pleasant pasture-lands her image gave him no rest. When a madman's prophetic maunderings reminded Saad of his demi-Christian heritage he dropped his new-won fame and trudged back to dangerous Kasir. As a pretended blind man, a pretended Christian convert, he saw Evanthia again. His bloody end was happy.

The Author. Jean-Richard Bloch is known to U. S. readers as author of a realistic super-novel of industrialism ("--& Co.", TIME, Jan. 27, 1930). In this venture into a savage Orient he shows a power of historical imagination you may admire but will hardly find surprising. A Night in Kurdistan is the kind of melodrama an artist sometimes makes.

Calvary Without Christ

Two THIEVES--Manuel Komroff-- Coward-McCann ($2.50).

Though history has told nothing more of them than how they died, the world's most famed thieves are those two who were crucified with Christ. Manuel Komroff makes them the heroes of his story, ennobles them into Jewish patriots who died for their country.

Barzor was scion of a rich Jewish family, prosperous and happy. His life was ruined when his young wife and child were killed in Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents. His attempt to murder Herod in revenge failed; by a series of lucky accidents he escaped into the desert to friendly Arabs. But he had become a man of fixed idea, and only bided his time to launch a rebellion against Herod and the eRomans who kept him in power. Then he met Rongus, a young Jew who had been sold into slavery by a mercenary uncle. Too high-spirited for his own health, Rongus defied a Roman officer and was about to be tortured to death when crafty Barzor happened along, disguised as an Arab trader, and bought Rongus from a venal overseer.

Rongus resembled Samson in physique and simplicity. He was soon lost in admiration of Barzor's guile and determination, did exactly as he was told. By a complicated chain of cunning schemes they fomented unrest in Jerusalem, lured the Roman forces far from the city and were about to strike--when their necessary figurehead, the man who was to head the revolt, fell fatally ill. Then everything turned against the conspirators; the priests of the Temple made peace with Pilate; the Roman army from Syria arrived; Barzor and Rongus were captured, quickly condemned to death.

Constantly you are expecting to hear of the Prophet from Galilee, but He is never mentioned by name, never appears. All you hear is rumors of His passing, but He is one among many in a troubled time that has many prophets. As the story comes to its end on Calvary your suspense grows acute, you wonder how Barzor and Rongus will meet Christ. In their agony they speak only to each other; the third cross is silent, anonymous. But though Christ never enters the story, you feel his just-missed presence over the whole book.

The Author. Says Manuel Komroff: "The best authors are those that are dead. The next best authors are deaf, dumb and blind--deaf to Hollywood, dumb for the lecture platform, blind to publicity." Himself an ambitious writer, he thinks "the secret of good English is the interplay of vowel sounds. ... I write in ink because the clicking of the typewriter destroys the rhythm of words." Bland, informal, he gives a light-brown impression. One-time art critic, newspaper correspondent, editor, he is 40, married, has no boss. Other books: The Grace of Lambs, Juggler's Kiss, Coronet (TIME, Jan. 6, 1930).

* New books are news. Unless otherwise designated, all books reviewed in TIME -were published within the fortnight. TIME readers may obtain any book of any U. S. publisher by sending check or money-order to cover regular retail price ($5 if price is unknown, change to be remitted) to Ben Boswell of TIME, 205 East 42nd St., New York City.

*Published Jan. 22.

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