A Very British Cult

Rogue Priests and the Abode of Love

Stuart Flinders

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Hardback

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English

Icon Books
01 February 2025

Social & cultural history; Contemporary non-Christian & para-Christian cults & sects

A secluded country house. A rogue Anglican Priest. Ceremonial sex and mislaid fortunes.

This is the almost-forgotten story of Victorian Britain's strangest religious sect and its wealthy, mostly female, followers who believed they could ascend directly to heaven. Henry James Prince was a rogue Anglican Priest with a flare for the dramatic, and the founder of the Agapemone, or 'Abode of Love'. He also claimed to be the immortal conduit of The Holy Spirit and purportedly engaged in free love and ceremonial sex with his mostly female followers. But Prince's eventual death didn't mark the end of this strange set... he was promptly replaced by another. John Hugh Smyth-Pigott - otherwise known as the Clapton Messiah.

The Abode transformed a sleepy, rural corner of Somerset into one of England's most notorious locations. While the followers shut themselves away and waited patiently for the end of the world, outrage grew - the word 'Agapemone' because a byword for licentiousness or idleness, used by Charles Dickens and Ford Maddox Ford. The reclusive Clapton Messiah became a fixture in the nation's papers, with frenzied efforts to discredit the organisation and undermine its leader. And still the cult grew.

Expertly drawing on primary sources to tell the story of the Agapemonites in details for the first time, Stuart Flinders shines a light on the people drawn to the cult - the forced marriages; the swindled fortunes; the women condemned to asylums; and those who managed to escape from the Abode. It is also the story of two extraordinary men, whose claims of divinity were at the heart of this very British cult.

AUTHOR: Stuart Flinders was a journalist for nearly four decades, working for BBC News and North West Tonight. He fronted Radio 4's You and Yours and presented live concerts on Radio 3. Now writing full-time, he is also the author of Cult of a Dark Hero: Nicholson of Delhi.

By: Stuart Flinders
Imprint: Icon Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9781837731473
ISBN 10: 1837731470
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

Stuart Flinders has been a journalist for nearly four decades, with his work involving BBC News, fronting Radio 4's You and Yours for many years, and presenting live concerts on Radio 3. He also writes, and is the author of Cult of a Dark Hero: Nicholson of Delhi.

Reviews for A Very British Cult: Rogue Priests and the Abode of Love

Some rural villages have a natural 'The League of Gentlemen feel', something that came to mind reading the strange tale of a secluded Somerset country house, known as the 'Abode of Love'. * The Independent - Books of the Month * Flinders shines a light on the people drawn to the cult and those who managed to escape from the Abode. * Somerset Life * Flinders has done readers a service in digging out this mostly forgotten but engrossing tale. * The Daily Telegraph *