The Times Literary Supplement of July 13, 2012, on page 30 has a review of a new book: Muckraker: The Scandalous Life and Times of W. T. Stead, by W. Sydney Robinson. Stead was an important figure for whom the Theosophical Encyclopedia includes an article. The TLS review, however, presents a more personal glimpse into his life, including this: “Married for years and the head of a large family, Stead routinely sought the company of attractive young women, always swearing that such friendships were innocent. Time and again, Robinson describes his subject’s female associates in similar terms — ‘an attractive young socialist called Annie Besant’ [etc.].”
A young Annie Besant