ABSTRACT
Mrs Besant’s literary career was cut short by the birth, in successive years, 1869 and 1870, of her two children, Arthur Digby and Mabel Emily, and the illness of both children, particularly of Mabel, in the spring of 1871. But it was the suffering of her children and herself during the course of that illness which eventually led directly to her definite break with her husband and with religion. During the early stages of these renewed doubts Mr Besant brought an elder clergyman to see his wife. They had an interview, and afterwards he wrote her a letter which she describes as “noble,” which it may be, but which undoubtedly was singularly unhelpful. The parish was large and sparsely populated, so that Mrs Besant could not play the customary part of the parson’s wife, and consequently had ample time on her hands for deliberation on her troubles and doubts.
