It’s 1835, and Robert Matthews (who calls himself “Prophet Matthias”) has recently been released from prison. He travels to Kirkland to meet the Mormon leader Joseph Smith. Matthias wants to convert the Mormon people to his own religion, but they aren’t convinced. Matthias had more luck once before, and the book tells that story. It’s set in the early 1800s in New York.
The first chapter documents the early life of a man named Elijah Pierson. He grows up in a strict Calvinist community whose tenets include fearing God, denying personal freedoms, and obeying the male head of household. As a young adult, Elijah he moves to New York City in search of work and soon establishes himself a successful merchant selling supplies to rural general stores. Despite his success, Elijah finds it difficult to fit in to urban life, so he joins an evangelical church and begins doing charity work. He marries a devout evangelical named Sarah Stanford and embraces her lifestyle of striving to be perfect at living modestly, praying, fasting, and doing missionary work. Together, they set up an asylum that reforms sex workers and converts them to Christianity. Sarah exhausts herself with her efforts, and she eventually falls ill and dies. Elijah is torn apart with grief and starts having religious delusions. He believes that he’s a prophet named “Elijah the Tishbite” and can raise Sarah from the dead. Elijah’s friends worry about his sanity, and they ultimately distance themselves from him.
The second chapter discusses Robert Matthews’s early life. Matthews grows up in a patriarchal Calvinist community. He’s orphaned at a young age, but the thought of becoming the head of his own household one day makes him feel hopeful. Matthews moves to New York to find work as a carpenter, but he struggles to hold down a job: others don’t like working with him because he frequently shames his coworkers for acting “sinfully.” Matthews marries Margaret Wright and they begin having children. He has frequent violent outbursts and even beats Margaret with a whip. The family moves to Albany, and Matthias roams around preaching, while Margaret has to beg for food. She wants a divorce but her community advises against it. Meanwhile, Matthews grows out his beard and fingernails and starts calling himself “Prophet Matthias.”
The third chapter documents how Matthias and Elijah meet. Shortly after Sarah dies, Matthias (who’s wandering around New York City, trying to convert people to his new religion) knocks on Elijah Pierson’s door. Even though Elijah lives modestly, Matthias can tell that Elijah is rich. Matthias convinces Elijah to hand over control of his life and become a disciple in Matthias’s new religion. Matthias also convinces Elijah’s servant, a Black woman named Isabella Van Wagenen, to join. Then, Matthias recruits wealthy businessman Sylvester Mills and an affluent couple named Benjamin and Ann Folger. The group moves to Benjamin’s country estate in Hudson County and establishes Matthias’s cult, “The Kingdom of Matthias,” naming their home “Mount Zion.”
The remaining chapters document the rise and fall of Matthias’s cult. Benjamin travels often, making business deals to fund the cult, while Matthias establishes himself as the cult’s “Father,” whom his followers must obey unconditionally. As Matthias and Ann grow closer, Matthias decides that Ann is destined to bear a holy child, and they begin a sexual relationship. Even though she’s already married to Benjamin, Ann marries Matthias, establishing herself as the cult’s “Mother.” Benjamin is heartbroken, but he still does Matthias’s bidding. When Benjamin goes to Albany to fetch Matthias’s children (20-year-old Isabella Laisdell and 11-year-old Johnny) he seduces Isabella Laisdell. The next day, Matthias viciously beats Isabella Laisdell and decides that she should marry Benjamin (even though she’s already married to a man named Charles Laisdell). Another woman in the cult, Catherine Galloway, is heartbroken, because she also has a sexual relationship with Benjamin. The group continues obeying Matthias, swapping sexual partners, and recruiting more people. Charles Laisdell obtains legal documents to retrieve his wife, and he forcibly takes her away from the cult. Shortly after, Benjamin and Catherine Galloway get married.
Benjamin grows increasingly dejected, and he eventually tells some old friends about his unhappiness. Enraged, the local community storms the house and temporarily expels Matthias. While Matthias is gone, Elijah, who’s grown old and feeble, believes that he should lead the cult, and he has delusional episodes in which he pines for Ann to relieve his pain by having sex with him. When Matthias returns, he feeds Elijah poisoned berries. Ann only eats one berry, but Elijah eats a whole bowl as usual. Soon enough, Elijah falls deathly ill. He dies two weeks later, drenched in his own vomit. The cult relocates to New York City, and a pregnant Ann rekindles her relationship with Benjamin. She rejects Matthias soon after, imploding the cult. Benjamin seizes the opportunity to accuse Matthias of fraud and murder. Then, Benjamin releases a public statement (and publishes a book with William Leete Stone), saying that he and Ann were innocent victims who were corrupted by Matthias and his servant, Isabella Van Wagenen. The public quickly accepts the Folgers’ narrative, and they label Isabella Van Wagenen a sinful villainess. Isabella is appalled that the Folgers shift blame onto her to cover up their power in the cult, and she sues Benjamin Folger for slander.
Meanwhile, Matthias’s court case causes a frenzy in the press. Ann delivers a damning testimony, almost convincing the jury that Matthias (aided by Isabella Van Wagenen) murdered Elijah Pierson. In the end, lack of evidence pushes the jury to rule that Matthias is not guilty of murder. Matthias is, however, charged with beating his daughter Isabella Laisdell, and he’s sentenced to four months in prison.
Public interest in the scandal soon wanes, but the story of Matthias’s cult inspires many 19th-century American writers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. In the aftermath of the trial, several prominent public figures publish books about the dangers of religious fanaticism in society. But even today, there are many such cults in the United States. Cults like this seem to capture a dangerous undercurrent in American society, fueled by disenfranchised men who are bitter about the loss of patriarchal authority, both in religion, and in their society.
As for what happens to the members of this particular cult, Matthias continues preaching and wandering after he’s released from prison. Sylvester Mills ends up in an insane asylum, while Benjamin and Ann Folger resume their lives in the evangelical community. Meanwhile, Isabella Van Wagenen collaborates with antiracist newspaper editor Gilbert Vale to reveal the truth about the cult, including the cult’s sexual promiscuity, and Benjamin and Ann’s roles as leading cult members. Isabella Van Wagenen wins her lawsuit against Benjamin Folger, and she uses the compensation to begin a new life as antiracist activist Sojourner Truth.
