We asked Lauren Wilson, author of the new novel, The Goldens, to round up her favorite books featuring cults.
The Girls – Emma Cline One of my all-time favourite books, The Girls follows fourteen-year-old Evie who, bored and lonely over the long, hot summer of 1969, becomes mesmerised by a dark-haired girl called Suzanne. Evie become increasingly involved at the cult-like ranch commune where Suzanne lives with a host of drifters and runaways, led by the magnetic Russell. Emma Cline’s debut novel – inspired by the Manson family murders – is packed with stunning prose and dark themes.
Spoilt Creatures – Amy Twigg When newly-single and rudderless Iris meets Hazel, who lives in an all-women commune in the Kent Downs, she hopes for a fresh start. At Breach House, the women can live freely away from men under the leadership of their matriarch, Blythe – until men arrive at the farm, and everything changes. Vivid and tense, Spoilt Creatures is a heady, summery read filled with female rage, power dynamics and cult vibes.
Station Eleven – Emily St John Mandel In this profound novel, art and humanity are examined through the dual lenses of the outbreak of a dangerous flu pandemic and the lives of a group of survivors twenty years later as they travel to perform music and plays. While Station Eleven isn’t necessarily about a cult, a solid chunk of the plot focuses on the survivors’ dealings with a doomsday cult (or is it a post-doomsday cult?) led by the mysterious Prophet. It’s one of my all-time favourite novels.
The Secret History – Donna Tartt Arguably the original dark academia novel, The Secret History follows our narrator Richard in his first year at a prestigious New England university and is drawn in by his wealthy, eccentric and gloriously pretentious Ancient Greek classmates and their enigmatic teacher, Julian. What starts out as friendship gradually escalates into hedonism, betrayal and murder – and the consequential shattering of the group in various ways. Originally published in 1992, The Secret History is still beloved more than thirty years later, and is completely deserving of its iconic status.
Bunny – Mona Awad Combining magical realism and horror with dark academia, Bunny follows university student Samantha Heather Mackey as she gets drawn in by the Bunnies – a clique of pretentious rich girls in her creative writing class who call each other ‘Bunny’ and have an…unusual hobby. It’s hard to describe this novel without spoiling it, but if you like the sound of a super girly, cult-like clique and some fantastically unreliable narration, you’ll love this book.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels – Janice Hallett Told uniquely through research and evidence, this clever novel asks you to piece together the puzzle of the Alperton Angels. Twenty years ago, a cult convinced a young mum that her newborn baby was the anti-Christ – and encouraged her to kill it. When she finally called the police, the leader of the cult was imprisoned, other cult members took their own lives, and the mother and baby vanished. In the present day, true crime author Amanda Bailey is determined to track down the baby, who is now eighteen. However, it isn’t long before she and rival author Oliver Menzies discover that the story of the Alperton Angels is far from over.
The Project – Courtney Summers In this dark and striking YA thriller, journalist Lo is determined to track down her older sister, Bea, who joined a group called The Unity Project after their parents were killed in a car accident. Lo is determined to both expose The Project for what she believes it really is – a sinister cult led by a charismatic leader – and save her sister at any cost. Told from the perspectives of both Lo and Bea, this is a hard-hitting read that explores both family and cult dynamics.
After The Fire – Will Hill In this sensitive and thought-provoking novel (which won the YA Book Prize in 2018), we follow seventeen-year-old Moonbeam through dual timelines as she grapples with the Before and After of a catastrophic fire. In the Before, she lives in a remote desert commune as part of the Lord’s Legion, where her every move is controlled by Father John. In the After, Moonbeam must face the truth of her life in the commune, and how it all fell apart. A story of survival and inner strength, After The Fire is a must-read.
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