PART I

PREFACE AND BIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

1. Editor’s Preface
2. Anna Kingsford – Her Life and Work (Samuel H. Hart)
3. Anna Kingsford: In Memoriam (Samuel H. Hart)

1. Editor’s Preface

As the title and authors listed in this collection of texts already indicate, its content aims to present an overview of Dr. Anna Kingsford’s contribution to the cause of vegetarianism.

All the authors, with the sole exception of Dr. Kirstine Nolfi M.D., are directly related to the dissemination of the message of Dr. Anna Kingsford and her great companion throughout her life, Edward Maitland.

This message was called the “New” Gospel of Interpretation. It is a pioneering work, still from the end of the 19th century, which presents a logical and profound interpretation of the symbols and parables of Christianity, as well as its fundamental relationship with Buddhism, a relationship that we call Buddhist Christianity.

Within this message, Vegetarianism is considered a topic of paramount importance, and also regarding this topic, Dr. Kingsford’s work was of great relevance and pioneering spirit, being considered by many as the “Mother” of Vegetarianism in our time. An example of this was her medical school thesis at the University of Paris, which dealt precisely with this topic.

Due to this broader context, the collection of texts in this work seeks to focus on Dr. Kingsford’s contribution to the cause of Vegetarianism from various perspectives; that is, not only as a dietary reform, but also presenting content within its biographical, philosophical, religious, social, biological, and even health and medical aspects.

Dr. Kirstine Nolfi’s text, actually a booklet, was included not to claim its accuracy in every detail, as that goes beyond the objectives of this collection, but only as a clear corroboration of another pioneering aspect of Dr. Kingsford’s message, which was the affirmation of the importance of what is now called “living food,” based on the ingestion of raw foods.

The complete works of these two great prophets, Dr. Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland, are compiled and available in their entirety and free of charge on the Anna Kingsford Website (www.annakingsford.com). There, we also find several other works by authors related to the “New” Gospel of Interpretation.

In the preparation of this work, as well as others I have edited in recent years, thanks are due to my friend Luis Antonio de Souza, who has fraternally and voluntarily assisted greatly in these endeavors.

As far as we can see, the message of these two great prophets is of the utmost importance for the well-being of the world, and its beneficial effects are only just beginning. May the recovery of a truly catholic (universal) and scientific religiosity – which the “New” Gospel of Interpretation and its Buddhist Christianity exemplify for the world, be, in fact, a sign of the dawn of an era with more understanding, tolerance, and harmony.