Octavia, Daughter of God

“Mabel Barltrop created one of the most bizarre and irresistibly comic religions ever . . . [Shaw] argues convincingly that the Panacea Society holds important lessons for the sociology of religion.”—Adam Kirsch, Barnes and Noble Review

~Adam Kirsch, Barnes and Noble Review

“Shaw writes with understanding and humor, and although there is sometimes some archness in what is a truly funny story of eccentrics, she is never condescending. . . . Shaw's history of [this] movement is funny and instructive.”—Rob Hardy, the Dispatch (Columbus, Mississippi)

~Rob Hardy, Dispatch

“[A] careful, selectively sympathetic portrait . . .  impressive . . . Without shying from the parodic potential embedded in their eccentricity, Shaw does serious justice to the Panaceans, and especially to the charismatic woman who anchored and inspired them.”—Lindsay Reckson, Los Angeles Review of Books

~Lindsay Reckson, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Impressive empathy . . . a comprehensive yet nuanced book.”—Margrethe Løøv, Nova Religio

~Margrethe Løøv, Nova Religio