On the deity of Jesus of Nazareth, by the wife of a beneficed clergyman [A. Besant] ed. by C. Voysey

This text originated during Annie Besant's transition from devout Christianity to secularism and eventually theosophy. Originally published anonymously as a pamphlet while she was married to a clergyman, the work served as a rigorous intellectual critique of orthodox Christian theology. By the time Charles Voysey edited and reissued the material, it functioned as a pointed contribution to the Victorian era's burgeoning debates regarding biblical criticism and institutional religious authority.

The writing reflects Besant’s early mastery of polemical prose, a skill that would later define her career as a prominent activist and public intellectual. Voysey, a prominent theist who had been deprived of his living for his own heterodox views, championed the republication to align with his mission of promoting rationalist religious inquiry. While controversial at the time of its release, the volume is now studied primarily as a historical artifact of the freethought movement and an early milestone in Besant’s evolution toward public advocacy.