Charles Purdom

Charles Purdom
Purdom (right) with Meher Baba, London 1932
Born	15 October 1883(1883-10-15) England
Died	8 July 1965(1965-07-08) (aged 81) Welwyn Garden City, England
Occupation	Author, Drama critic, Economist

Charles Benjamin Purdom, usually credited as C. B. Purdom (15 Oct 1883 - 8 July 1965), was a British author, drama critic, economist and editor of an English periodical called Everyman. ^[1] Everyman covered books, drama, music and travel and featured articles by renowned authors such as Ivor Brown, Arthur Machen, G. K. Chesterton, A. E. Coppard, Bertrand Russell and many others. He was also the earliest biographer of Meher Baba. He died in London in 1965.

First biographer of Meher Baba

Purdom was a devoted life-long follower of the Indian silent teacher Meher Baba after meeting him in Devon, England on Baba's first visit to the West in 1931. ^[2] Purdom was Meher Baba's original biographer, writing The Perfect Master: The Early Life of Meher Baba in 1937, which covers Meher Baba's life from 1911-1936, and The God Man: The Life, Journeys & Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of His Silence & Spiritual Teaching in 1964. He also wrote an early single-volume edition of Meher Baba's discourses titled God to Man and Man to God: The Discourses of Meher Baba (1955) and co-wrote with author Malcolm Schloss a detailed account of a group visit with Meher Baba in India titled Three Incredible Weeks with Meher Baba: September 11 - September 30, 1954.

Selected publications

• The Garden City: A Study of the Development of a Modern Town, J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1913
• The Building of Satellite Towns: A Contribution to the Study of Town Development and Regional Planning, J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1925
• The Swan Shakespeare; a Player's Edition - 3 Volumes , J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1930
• Producing Plays: a handbook for producers & players, J.M. Dent, London 1930
• Everyman at War. Sixty Personal Narratives of the War, Dutton, New York, 1930 and J.M. Dent, London, 1939
• The Perfect Master: The Life of Shri Meher Baba, (Meher Baba's life from 1911-1936), Williams & Norgate Ltd, London, 1937. Reprinted as Perfect Master, The Early Life of Meher Baba, by Sheriar Press USA in 1976
• The New Order, J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1941
• How Shall We Rebuild London?, J.M. Dent, London, 1946
• Economic Wellbeing, Nicholson and Watson, 1947
• Producing Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, London, 1950
• Life Over Again, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1951
• Drama Festivals and Their Adjudication; a Handbook for Producers, Actors, Festival Organisers, and Adjudicators, J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., London, 1951
• Three Incredible Weeks with Meher Baba: September 11 - September 30, 1954
• Harley Granville Barker: Man of the Theatre, Dramatist, and Scholar, Salisbury Square, 1955
• God to Man and Man to God: The Discourses of Meher Baba, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1955
• Bernard Shaw's Letters to Granville Barker, Phoenix House, London, 1956
• A Guide to the Plays of Bernard Shaw, Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, 1963
• The Letchworth Achievement, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1963
• What Happens in Shakespeare: a New Interpretation, John Baker Publ., London, 1963
• The God-Man: The Life, Journeys & Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of His Silence & Spiritual Teaching, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1964

References

1. ^ Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, Bhau Kalchuri, Manifestation, Inc. 1986. p. 1416
2. ^ The Awakener Magazine, Fall 1955, Vol. III, No. 2

External links

• 1932 Paramount Newsreel of Charles Purdom with Meher Baba in London

Persondata
Name	Purdom, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 October 1883
Place of birth	England
Date of death	8 July 1965
Place of death	Welwyn Garden City, England