Annie Besant 
Marriage – As It Was, As It Is, and As It Should Be 

First published in 1879, “Marriage – As It Was, As It Is, and As It Should Be” is a short pamphlet written by British writer and activist Annie Besant on the subject of marriage and women’s marital rights. Within it Besant outlines the contemporary British marriage laws, which consider women to be merely property of their husbands, and offers suggestions as to how the law can be improved to furnish women with equal rights to men. Despite having been published well over a hundred years ago, Besant’s opinions are surprisingly modern and some of her ideas related to shared parenting post-divorce have only recently been ratified in British law. Annie Besant (1847–1933) was a British theosophist, socialist, writer, activist, orator, and staunch advocate for Irish and Indian independence. She was a prolific author, writing more than three hundred books and pamphlets during her life. Other notable works by this author include: “Karma; A Study in Consciousness”, “The Seven Principles of Man”, and “Some Problems of Life”. Read & Co. Great Essays is republishing this classic essay now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.