Theos-Talk Archives (November 2006 Message tt00870)

There had been calls for a biography of Leadbeater from within the (Adyar)
TS from the time of his death ? Arundale publicly urged that one should be
written ? but nothing eventuated. Jinarajadasa had begun collecting
material (which is in the TS archives at Adyar).
Around the time I began work on my biography (but before the details of
the fraudulent early years had been uncovered) I contacted the TPH at
Wheaton to see if they would be interested in publishing a biography. I
was advised that one had been written and was being considered by the TPH;
I was told the author?s name, but do not now recall it. I was subsequently
told the proposed biography had been ?put on ice? after details of what I
had discovered about Leadbeater became known.
The British Theosophist and Liberal Catholic priest, Hugh Shearman, wrote
a biographical pamphlet in 1980 which was published by the St Alban Press,
publisher for the Liberal Catholic Church. This was, clearly, a
?pre-emptive strike? and the material on Leadbeater?s birth details had
simply been stolen from my research which I had (against my publisher?s
advice) made available to the then President of the (Adyar) TS (and
Liberal Catholic bishop), John Coats.
The only other attempt at a biography was that of Peter Michel (in German).
Rumour suggests that an eminent Liberal Catholic is currently working on a
new biography to ?vindicate? Leadbeater (presumably against my claims).
I would certainly welcome further biographies of Leadbeater, and would be
disappointed if mine was the only one to be published.
I propose to work on expanding my thesis once it has been made available
electronically to me by the University of Sydney ? there is a lot of
additional material I have gathered since completing the thesis in 1986. A
US publisher (much to my surprise) has expressed interest in producing the
work.

Dr Gregory Tillett