A Very British Cult - Rogue Priests and the Abode of Love

Stuart Flinders

Sinopsis

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.

Disponible desde: 07/11/2024.

Longitud de impresión: 288 páginas.

Otros libros que te pueden interesar

On Being Ill

Virginia Woolf

"Always to have sympathy, always to be accompanied, always to be understood would be intolerable."
Virginia Woolf's essay begins by lamenting the surprise neglect of ill-health as a potential literary subject. What then unfolds is a dazzlingly written series of reflections on sickness, fiction, and the chilling indifference of the natural world. Above all a testament to the fundamental solitariness of the human soul, this is an indispensable work by the preeminent stylist of twentieth-century English literature.

Ver libro

Living Room Revolution - A...

Cecile Andrews

The author of The Circle of Simplicity “joyfully invites us to discover a robust and real personal expansion with each other as we remake our society” (Mark Lakeman, cofounder, The City Repair Project).

Every man for himself! For too long we have lived in a competitive, consumer-oriented culture, destroying the well-being of people and the planet. We believe that money brings happiness, yet all too often, the opposite is true. The pursuit of wealth at any cost corrupts our values and diminishes our lives. The resulting inequality breaks down social cohesion and generates envy, bitterness, and resentment. Greed breeds more greed.

Living Room Revolution refutes the notion that selfishness is at the root of human nature. Research shows that people—given the right circumstances—can be caring, nurturing and collaborative. Presented with the opportunity, they gravitate toward actions and policies embodying empathy, fairness, and trust instead of competition, fear, and greed. The regeneration of social ties and the sense of caring and purpose that comes from creating community drive this essential transformation.

At the heart of this movement is the ancient art of conversation. Living Room Revolution provides a practical toolkit of concrete strategies to facilitate personal and social change by bringing people together in community and conversation.

The heart of happiness is joining with others in good talk and laughter. Each person can make a difference, and it can all start in your own living room!

“Small groups. Study circles. Stop ’n chats. House parties. Movie nights. Online sharing. Bring people together, and you never know what kind of fuse you’ll ignite for change.” —Wanda Urbanska, author of The Heart of Simple Living

Ver libro

Egoists A Book of Supermen -...

James Huneker

Egoists, A Book Of Supermen is a work by James Huneker. It reflects upon the philosophies of several "egoist" thinkers: Stendhal, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Anatole France, Huysmans, Barrès, Nietzsche, Blake, Ibsen, Stirner and Ernest Hello.

Ver libro