A TEXTBOOK OF THEOSOPHY

Charles Webster Leadbeater (16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was an influential member of the Theosophical Society, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a clergyman of the Church of England, his interest in spiritualism caused him to end his affiliation with the Church of England in favour of the Theosophical Society, where he became an associate of Annie Besant. He became a high ranking officer of the Society, but resigned in 1906, after accusations that he had been engaging in mutual masturbation with teenage boys in his care. With Besant's assistance he was readmitted a few years later, and although similar rumours occurred throughout his career, Leadbeater's talents as a prolific author on occultism kept him an important presence in Theosophy until his death in 1934.

Mary Lutyens stated that starting in 1895 Leadbeater and Annie Besant reputedly made "...occult investigations together into the cosmos, the beginnings of mankind, chemistry and the constitution of the elements, as well as frequently visiting the Masters together in their astral bodies".