A Fall From Grace

Josie Larkin as a child was brutalised by a Christian fundamentalist mother who believed that any sin (real or imagined) is the result of demonic possession, and the only cure must be harsh corporal punishment. Leaving home soon after leaving school, Josie goes to live in service with a local family where she falls in love with their daughter, and thus begins a torrid lesbian affaire. A Fall From Grace follows her life with Mattie, the love of her life, and parallels it with the sad and lonely old woman we eventually meet. It fills in the gaps between the beautiful young person she once was and the grubby creature who endlessly walks the streets of her village. The story is partly told through the eyes of two children who witness the present whilst being ignorant of the past until they decide to help her. In addition, she has a bitter enemy, a bully, who decides that she is a witch and that all witches should be burned. And the title begs the question – what or when was her grace?