Theos-Talk Archives (June 2005 Message tt00336)

Title: Publishing in the Fifth Dimension: Theosophy and the
Birth of Mind, Body and Spirit Publishing
Author: Kimberley Morgan

COMPLETE book is online at:

http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/content/oncourse/pitfd.pdf

ABSTRACT BELOW:

The founder of the Theosophical Society, the enigmatic Madame
Blavatsky, became famous almost overnight with the publication of
her first book Isis Unveiled, published in 1877 by J. W. Bouton in
New York. Isis Unveiled took the Victorian readers by storm,
leading them to avenues of thoughts they never imagined could exist.
A few years later, the first Theosophical publishing houses were
created.

The Theosophical publishing houses, in London, India and America
opened the way to a new publishing genre, Mind, Body and Spirit,
as it is popularly known today. These entities were originally 
founded to disseminate the teachings of Blavatsky, and of 
her 'Masters', and as their lists grew, more authors followed.
In this dissertation, I shall argue that H. P. Blavatsky was a 
catalyst for a renaissance, with the publication of Isis Unveiled. 

Using various sources, I described the growth of this movement.
While assessing today's market and climate, I reached the
conclusion that Madame Blavatsky, Theosophy, and the various 
Theosophical publishing houses were the forerunners of the New Age 
movement.

They regenerated the publishing industry by pointing the way to new
possibilities. They facilitated the global expansion of this sector, 
for new publishers, authors, distributors, booksellers and 
readership, in what has become a very profitable market.