Faber has pre-empted debut The Rapture in a “major” deal ahead of Frankfurt Book Fair. The novel is based on real events and written by ITV news journalist Claire McGlasson.
Editorial director Louisa Joyner pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights to the title from Laura Williams at Peters Fraser & Dunlop.
The Rapture is a story of madness and friendship, repressed emotions, acts of true devotion and the dangers that lurk within our own minds, said the publisher.
Set in Bedford, England, in 1926, a woman calling herself Octavia claims to be the Daughter of God. For six years she has been gathering followers who take up houses enclosing a garden which they believe to be the original site of Eden.
With the Great War having claimed so many husbands and sons, women flock to join the Society and follow Octavia’s teachings, but one young woman, Dilys, isn’t there by choice, and in a society where members are encouraged to spy and report even the smallest transgression Dilys is surrounded by people yet feels utterly alone. And as Dilys struggles to untangle the truth from the lies, she starts to hear the Devil whispering in her ear…
