Jesus An Essene by Edward Planta Nesbit [1895]

Edward Planta Nesbit (d. 1900) was a schoolmaster, author and land agent in Angaston, South Australia, during the 19th century. Aside from a thin book of poetry, this was the only book of his which ever saw print. This is a scan of the first edition. There was apparently a second edition in 1899, published in Manchester. This was supposed to be a first in a series titled Christ, Christians and Christianity, as evidenced by a list of proposed 'Succeeding Books' (none of which were ever published). Hence my decision to title this 'Jesus An Essene' rather than cite that as a sub-title, as some library entries have it.

In any case, Nesbit makes a very radical proposal which hinges on Jesus being a member of the Essene sect, today known as the custodians of the famous 'Dead Sea Scrolls.' This may not have been the first appearance of this theme, which remains popular today, but it is the earliest that I'm aware of. In any case, this is one of those short books which can have a big impact on the reader.

PRODUCTION NOTES: There are no chapter breaks in the main body of the book. On this occasion, at least, I have decided to leave this as one big (400Kb) file rather than insert arbitrary file breaks. Please download responsibly.--J.B. Hare, February 10, 2009.