From Living Traditions 8 February 2007 (online magazine):
Anna Kingsford was an amazing character, many believe that if she hadn't died so young' she would have surpassed the success of other esoteric teachers of that period such as Madame Blavatsky. She had a presence and integrity that affected everyone she met, and what she achieved in a short life cannot but impress.
Anna Kingsford was an unusual woman in that she was also a great success in the "real" as well as spiritual world. She is still remembered in medical history as one of the earlier women to gain qualifications as a doctor and her fight for animal rights and against vivisection was way before its time and sad to say, still continues to this day.
She fought for the rights of woman and for a short period became the editor of a well established women's magazine. She tirelessly lectured on the values of vegetarianism and argued for a healthy diet in a period when the medical profession had little understanding of the relationship between food and health. Her writings on rational dress and advice for women may seem trite today, but in her time were revolutionary and made her a much "in demand" public speaker. She discussed all aspects of women's health, diet, childcare and related issues which was just not the done thing at the time.
This in itself was a challenge, since in the 1800s it was not "seemly" for women to speak in public, never mind on the subject she chose to debate, and she had to battle prejudice every step of the way. One must admire her strength and stubborn persistence.
In many ways her life was quite an achievement without the spiritual aspect, yet in addition to her work with health, animals and vegetarianism she became one of the most significant spiritual figures of the period. Her books The Perfect Way and Clothed With the Sun are still considered classics of mystical thought and offer a lucid outline of Esoteric Christianity.
She felt that Theosophy overemphasized the eastern traditions which were perhaps unsuited to western minds and that the Society rather than encouraging free thought and a rational approach to the Mysteries was creating another form of dogma. She worried that the "Masters cult" developing within Theosophy would end up creating another form of hierarchy and this would lead to grief. After much conflict within the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society she left to form the Hermetic Society with Edward Maitland.
She worked with Maitland in the Hermetic Society to re-instate what she believed was the essence of original Christianity, that is a living "Mystery Tradition" that was at the same as that found in Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, Kabbalah and the esoteric traditions of east and west. It is fascinating to note that both McGregor Mathers and Wynn Westcott, both who went on to form the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, began by giving lectures at the Hermetic Society. Anna was not someone who knew her own limits and was constantly involved in her teaching, campaigns against vivisection and her work for vegetarianism. This coupled with consumption lead to her death in 1888.
Since Anna Kingsford's death there has been little research on her life. Red cactus offers a new and comprehensive re-evaluation of what we know about Kingsford's life, work and spirituality. It is meticulously researched, well documented and relies heavily on letters and source material, many from people Anna knew, since sadly Maitland, Anna's co-worker destroyed most of the source materials.
This is perhaps the saddest aspect of the tale, the man she chose to work with, Edward Maitland, after her death decided to write his own story of her life. Anna Kingsford: Her Life, Letters , Diary and Work by Edward Maitland (1824-1897) was published in 1896 in two volumes totaling 900 pages, and received very mixed reviews in the press. For many it was a betrayal of Anna. Maitland seemed to make himself the centre f the work and included many episodes that seemed out of character for a woman of such high ethics. A good example being the ludicrous tale that Anna killed two French vivisectors via the means of a curse!
Alan Pert's work takes Maitland's "mythic" text to task and offers the very first historically accurate biography of Anna Kingsford.
This is a significant work which is not only of value to those interested in Theosophical or esoteric history, it offers an important reassessment of the life of Anna Kingsford and will hopefully re-introduce her work to a generation seeking spiritual wisdom.