Dilys is a devoted member of a terribly English cult: The Panacea Society, populated almost entirely by virtuous single ladies.
When she strikes up a friendship with Grace, a new recruit, God finally seems to be smiling upon her. The friends become closer as they wait for the Lord to return to their very own Garden of Eden, and Dilys feels she has found the right path at last.
But Dilys is wary of their leader's zealotry and suspicious of those who would seem to influence her for their own ends. As her feelings for Grace bud and bloom, the Society around her begins to crumble. Faith is supplanted by doubt as both women come to question what is true and fear what is real.
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[A vicar's widow called Mabel believes herself to be Octavia, the Daughter of God - a messiah with the power to bring an end to suffering in the world]***
(Faber and Faber, 6 June 2019, 368 pages, hardback, copy from @AmazonUK via #AmazonVine)
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I enjoyed this book even though it was much tamer than I was expecting. I hoped the book would be very dark and disturbing. It is, to a small extent but not as much as I hoped. There's nothing wrong wth this and the book is very enjoyable and well-written. I did not realise until I'd finished it that it was based on a true story. The Panacea Society is a real cult and Dilys is a real person. I wish I'd known this before I started to read the book. I might have enjoyed it a bit more. Dilys is a great character, well written and very real. I loved how she develops across the book, becoming stronger and starts to doubt Octavia and the cult. She goes from strength to strength. I found the end of the book quite unpleasant and disturbing at times but totally engrossing.