Abode of Love: Growing Up in a Messianic Cult

Henry G. MacLeod teaches sociology at Trent University and the
University of Waterloo.

As Kate Barlow concludes in this memoir, families often have skeletons
in their closets, but not a self-proclaimed Messiah. Abode of Love
skilfully blends her reminiscences of life in Agapemone, an estate in
the village of Spaxton, England, from 1948 to 1956, with an account of
her grandfather’s role in an apocalyptic millenarian religious sect.

Both stories are captivating. Although the young Kate realizes that her
family and the residents of Agapemone (Greek for “abode of love”)
are viewed as peculiar by outsiders, she does not learn why until she is
about 13. We struggle with her as the truth about her family is
gradually uncovered. She provides an overview of Agapemone, a
19th-century religious movement and the name of the estate where its
founder lived with his followers, many of whom were wealthy, single
women. His charismatic successor, Dear Beloved (born John Hugh
Smyth-Pigott), proclaimed himself the Messiah, causing riots in London.
Controversy continued when the already married preacher took a spiritual
bride and sired three illegitimate children.

Following his death in 1927, the movement collapsed. The estate
continued to be occupied by his family and several educated and talented
women. Barlow, her mother, and two sisters moved there after her
parents’ divorce. Her mother worked to finance her children’s
education at boarding schools.

Abode of Love is not a sociological account of the Agapemone religious
sect. It does show how a cult can slowly die out with the loss of its
charismatic leader. Barlow speculates on whether even her grandfather
lost his faith in his Messianic claim because he wrote a will leaving
his worldly goods to his children and their mother. The real story is
about Barlow’s mother and her own failed attempt to escape her past.
She sacrifices her life to ensure that her daughters will have the
opportunity to overcome the stigma surrounding their origin. Barlow
eventually settled in Canada where she established a successful career
in journalism. Her first book is a pleasure to read.