The Inside of the Cup — Complete
1912
The novel opens in a prosperous Midwestern city where the old certainties of faith are colliding with the currents of modern thought. John Hodder, the young rector of St. John's Church, arrives to find a congregation comfortable in their wealth but restless in their souls. His predecessor's traditional sermons no longer satisfy a generation grappling with Darwin, critical Bible scholarship, and the restless energy of a changing world. At the center of the conflict stands Asa Waring, a pillar of the community whose rigid traditionalism masks a terror of doubt. As Hodder struggles to preach a faith that can survive honest questioning, he must win over not just his vestry, but the young woman who holds his future in her hands. Churchill writes with psychological precision about the collision between sincere belief and a world that has begun to pull apart at its spiritual seams.
