Alfred Percy Sinnett (18 January 1840 – 26 June 1921) was an English author and

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

Biography

Sinnett was born in London. His father died while he was young, as in 1851 Sinnett was listed as a "Scholar – London University", living with his mother Jane, who is listed as a widow and whose occupation is listed as "Periodical Literature"; his older sister Sophia, age 22, was a teacher. Jane's sister Sarah, age 48, was also a teacher. In 1870 Sinnett married his wife Patience, probably in the London area. He is listed in the 1871 England Census at age 31, as a Journalist, born in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. His wife Patience is 27, and her mother Clarissa Edenson a "Landowner", is living with them.By 1879, Sinnett had moved to India where he was "... the Editor of ''The Pioneer'', the leading English Daily of India..." He relates in his book, ''

The Occult World ''The Occult World'' is a book originally published in 1881 in London; it was compiled by a member of the Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in cont ...

'' that: "...on the first occasion of my making Madame Blavatsky's acquaintance she became a guest at my home at Allahabad and remained there for six weeks..." In 1880

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...

and

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...

visited the Sinnetts at their summer home in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, th ...

. The ''

Mahatma Letters ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett'' is a book published in 1923 by A. Trevor Barker. () According to Theosophical teachings, the letters were written between 1880 and 1884 by Koot Hoomi and Morya to A. P. Sinnett. The letters were previous ...

'', which generated the controversy that later helped lead to the split of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

were mostly written to Sinnett or his wife Patience. The letters started at this time when Sinnett asked Blavatsky whether if he wrote a letter to her Mahatmas, she could arrange to have it delivered. By 1884 Sinnett was back in England, where that year

Constance Wachtmeister Constance Georgina Louise Wachtmeister (''née'' Constance de Bourbel de Montpincon, french: de Bourbel de Montpinçon; March 28, 1838 – September 24, 1910), known as Countess Wachtmeister, was a prominent theosophist, a close friend of Hel ...

states that she met Blavatsky at the home of the Sinnetts in London. Sinnett asked

Charles Webster Leadbeater Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a p ...

to come back to England to tutor his son Percy and

George Arundale George Sydney Arundale (1 December 1878 in Surrey, England — 12 August 1945 in Adyar, India) was a Theosophist, Freemason, president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was the husband of t ...

. Leadbeater agreed and brought with him one of his pupils

Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (16 December 1875, Sri Lanka – 18 June 1953, United States) was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese author, occultist, freemason and theosophist. The fourth president of the Theosophical Society, Jinarajadasa was one of the wo ...

. Using "astral clairvoyance" Leadbeater assisted

William Scott-Elliot William Scott-Elliot (sometimes incorrectly spelled Scott-Elliott) (1849–1919) was a theosophist who elaborated Helena Blavatsky's concept of root races in several publications, most notably ''The Story of Atlantis'' (1896) and ''The Lost Lemuria ...

to write his book ''The Story of Atlantis'', for which Sinnett wrote the preface. Sinnett was later president of the

London Lodge The London Lodge (also London Lodge of the Theosophical Society) was an English lodge of the Theosophical Society. Until the 1910s, the lodge was an important part of the theosophical movement. History The London Lodge was founded on 27 June 187 ...

of the Society. By 1901 Sinnett is listed as an author. His son Percy is also listed as an author and born in India.1901 England Census

Notes

Works

''The Occult World''
(London: Trubner and Company, 1881)
''Esoteric Buddhism''
(London: Trubner and Company, 1883). Describes the concept of

Root race Root races are stages in human evolution in the esoteric cosmology of theosophist Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, as described in her book ''The Secret Doctrine'' (1888). These races existed mainly on now-lost continents. Blavatsky's model was develop ...

, later adopted by Madame Blavatsky.
''Karma: A Novel''
(London: Chapman & Hall, 1885)

(1886) * ttps://archive.org/details/rationalemesmer00sinngoog ''The Rationale of Mesmerism''(Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1892)
''The Growth of the Soul''
(Theosophical Publishing Society, London and Benares, 1896, 1905)]
''Occult Essays''
(Theosophical Publishing Society, London and Benares, 1905)

(London, 1911)

(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1914)

(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1915)

(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1916)

(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1919)
''Tennyson an Occultist, As His Writings Prove''
(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1920)

(Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1922) (posthumous)

Literature

* ''Autobiography of Alfred Percy Sinnett'', Theosophical History Centre Publications, London 1986

Letters

* Helena P. Blavatsky: ''The letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett and other miscellaneous letters'', London 1925 *A. Trevor Barker. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett London 1926 ()

External links

* *
The Mahatma Letters to Sinnett

''Esoteric Buddhism'' by A.P. Sinnett

Book Review of ''Karma''

Occult Investigations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinnett, Alfred Percy 1840 births 1921 deaths British male writers British non-fiction writers English Theosophists Helena Blavatsky biographers Male non-fiction writers Writers from London