The Captive and the Free

By Joyce Cary

A novel that explores the nature of belief and persuasion, and the human capacity for both good and evil.

The Reverend Walter Preedy is a faith healer, a man who has seen the light. Or so he says.

Some say he is a fraudster, a manipulator who uses religion to get what he wants. A journalist and his patrons want to tell Preedy’s story, but from what angle, and why? The answers are hard to fathom. 

Caught up in all of this are Alice – Preedy’s original victim, who is trapped between a criminal’s charisma and her own desire to denounce him – and the established church. All of them learn that opposing a manipulator can have unforeseen consequences.

The Captive and the Free is Cary’s final novel. It is an ambitious work that will appeal to all who love thought-provoking novels, as well as the many admirers of Cary’s work.