Abstract
As of 1846, the “Saviour of Mankind”—defrocked clergyman, the Reverend
Henry James Prince (1811‒1899)—lived in his Agapemone (Abode of Love)
compound in the quiet Somerset Village of Spaxton waiting to be taken up
to heaven. He, his wife, his “soul brides,” a few male acolytes, and
the wives he had arranged for them (three wealthy sisters), as well as a
hierarchy of followers, secreted themselves behind a 12-foot-high wall
and kept bloodhounds to deter intruders. Brothers abducted the fourth
sister and placed her in a lunacy asylum, an incarceration she
successfully challenged, and upon which Charles Dickens reported. As a
result of a bizarre ceremonial rape, several followers left the fold,
but the “Devil child” grew up to run the place after her father’s death
until another leader emerged. After Prince died in 1899, married
Reverend John Hugh Smyth-Pigott was enthroned as the “new Saviour,” and
new “soul brides” were selected by the Devil Child. The last remaining
sect member—Smyth-Piggott’s “spiritual” wife “Ruth” (who bore him three
children)—died in 1956. The sect epitomizes many such cults, with sex
scandals, accusations of brainwashing, dramatic rescues, moral outrage
from respectable society, and virulent attacks in the popular press.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Routledge handbook of Victorian scandals in literature and culture |
Editors | Brenda Ayres, Sarah E. Maier |
Place of Publication | New York |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
Chapter | 9 |
Pages | 206-222 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000782578, 9781003286011 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781032259963 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 01 Dec 2022 |