Charles Bradlaugh was an English political activist and atheist who founded the National Secular Society in 1866. In the 23 "Theological Essays" collected here, he discusses his views on various topics such as whether man has a soul and if there is a God; who was Jesus Christ and the Apostles. He also deals in depth with various books of the Bible, gives an overview of the history of heresy, and tries to answer the question when the Gospels were written.

M. Schele de Vere was born in Sweden in 1820 and studied language in Germany before eventually becoming a professor of modern language at the University of Virginia in 1844 where he would teach for more than 50 years. During his time as a professor, he would write many books, mostly focusing on language. One of his last works, being first published in 1873, "Modern Magic" instead focuses on the occult. From the preface: "The main purpose of our existence on earth—aside from the sacred and paramount...

I beg to present this my humble work to the English reader. It is the history of the Universe from its birth to its dissolution. I have explained the science of creation, its making and its mechanism. In doing so I have drawn my information from the recorded facts in the Sacred Books of the Root Race of mankind. Some facts and explanations are herein furnished for the first time in any modern language. This book embodies true Hinduism.