Henry Steel Olcott relates the conflicts and tensions within the Theosophical Society that led to its split in 1895.

Japanese Buddhism was introduced to the West during the World's Parliament of Religions, in the 1893 Columbian Exposition. In describing and analysing this event, this text challenges the view of Orientalism as a one-way process by which Asian cultures are understood through Western ideas.

Historical researcher, Michael Gomes charts the dramatic origins of the theosophical movement, one of the most influential philosophical systems to arise during the last hundred years. In this skillfully woven story of the early years of theosophy, the author re-creates the key events involving Blavatsky, Olcott, and a small group of like-minded occultists. His account covers the publication of Blavatsky's "occult encyclopedia", Isis Unveiled, concluding with the pilgrimage to India by the "theosophical twins."

Theosophy across Boundaries brings a global history approach to the study of esotericism, highlighting the important role of Theosophy in the general histories of religion, science, philosophy, art, and politics. The first half of the book consists of seven perspectives on the activities of the Theosophical Society in very different regional contexts, ranging from India, Vietnam, China, and Japan to Victorian Britain and Israel, shedding new light on the entanglement of "Western" and "Oriental" ideas around 1900. The second half explores specific cultural influences that Theosophy exerted in the spheres of literature, art, and politics, using case studies from Sri Lanka, Burma, India, Japan, Ireland, Germany, and Russia. The examples clearly show that Theosophy was part of a truly global movement, thus providing an outstanding example of the complex entanglements of the global religious history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This title represents pioneering research into an important but under-researched current. The three sections in the book are devoted to the Theosophical Society, Theosophically influenced religious currents, and the interaction between Theosophy and surrounding culture.

This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.