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The 19th Wife: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: David Ebershoff
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
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You Save: $13.13 (50%)
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Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 2955
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 514
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.6 x 1.4
ISBN: 1400063973
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781400063970
ASIN: 1400063973
Publication Date: August 5, 2008
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Product Description
Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.
Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense.
It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.
Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.
And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 Historical fiction that weaves todays headlines with their historical past August 6, 2008
80 out of 87 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed reading The 19th Wife. In fact, it was one of the best books I've read this year. The author, David Ebershoff, skillfully weaves a tale back and forth between the roots of nineteenth century polygamy and a modern day polygamist murder mystery.
Much of the book focuses on the nineteenth century beginnings of polygamy and the Mormon faith, and at first I was put off by this, being more interested in today's headlines than historical fiction, but as I moved through the book I found myself more and more captivated by the very compelling story of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's nineteenth (disputed) wife.
This book is woven with so much historical fact that it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction, but I do believe the author tried to accurately portray the events as much as possible.
Just a few of the highlights and themes in this book include a couple of "lost boys" who were kicked out of their community for small indiscretions, left abandoned on the streets at a young age. Their stories are wrought with pain but end nicely. There are also a few instances of modern day escapes from the polygamist community; some forced and coerced marriages; and a consistent theme of hurt feelings as the husbands take on additional wives. This book covers these stories and so many more it would be difficult to touch on all of them in a short review.
I have never read a nearly 600 page book in just four days, but that is just what I did with this book. I felt a very emotional connection to this book and it's characters and I hope to read more from this author.
I LOVE THIS BOOK August 14, 2008
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
If you, like I, love a fabulous mystery, history, poetic-like writing and an intriguing subject, you must read the 19th Wife. I could not put the book down and finished it in two days. The author has an uncanny ability to delve into characters souls and psychologies and to enable readers to find parts of himself or herself in subliminal ways. Ebershoff seamlessly switches between past and present and I felt as if I were living in a period (the advent of Mormonism and the incredible courage and resilience of the early Mormons) that I had no clue about. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. I think it is a perfect literary jewel.
Great book August 28, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. I had trouble putting it down. Mr Ebershoff weaved 2 tales a hundred years apart, yet related. One based on the real life story of Anne Eliza Webb, wife # 19 of Brigham Young (one of the first leaders in the Mormon church) and a fictional story of a modern day cult of polygamists. The book switches back and forth between the 2 stories. Seemingly the 2 stories are related only by the fact that the 2 woman at the heart of the stories are both ranked 19th with their husbands, but the author lays clues thoughout the book that connects the stories futher.
I guess real life is more interesting then fiction because the story of Anna Eliza is definalty better then the modern day murder mystery of the second story.
I've always been curious about the mormon faith and it's current reputation. My interest in this book was peaked when I saw that it was about polygamy and it didn't disappoint. Understandably, the story doesn't paint a nice picture of polygamy, however the author did a magnificent job of including several points of view, including those of the men who practice it.
This book was so well written, it answered my own disbelief about the reality of someone that would practice polygamy, and satisfied my interest in Mormonism's history.
Wow, I will definatly read this book again soon.
timely subject August 23, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Talk about timing -- with the big raid some time back of the Yearning For Zion ranch and all of the news from that event, this book should sell big time. Personally, I'm fascinated with the whole issue of polygamy -- not that I'd want to do it, but I do wonder why others subject themselves and furthermore, I wonder why the government hasn't just come right out and reminded law enforcement that polygamy is illegal and that leads to my wondering why this is still going on. The whole brainwashing thing eludes me as well, but then again, the issues brought up in this book are part of the reason I shy away from any sort of organized religion. Ebershoff may have written fiction, but the issue of brainwashing is very real. Take the Yearning For Zion thing in Texas -- the women there were scared to death of having to live on the outside because of all the things they are taught about the real world while they are under the sway of the FLDS leadership at the ranch. Or in the novel -- it's rife with examples of how the church leadership managed to convince some seemingly intelligent women that they needed to share their husbands with other women, sometimes under the same roof. It's all about salvation, you know? Fantasy camp for men; for women and especially for their children, well, what can I say? Sorry about the diatribe, but you know, the whole polygamy thing has a tendency to rankle me, and I appreciate Ebershoff's book -- it pointed out the many issues about this practice justified in the name of salvation.
So now that I've ranted, the book is structured so that there is a present-day mystery that focuses on a woman who has been arrested and imprisoned for killing her husband. It turns out that she is the 19th wife, and her estranged son reads about her arrest on the internet. Seems that when he was younger, he was tossed out of the local polygamist community, "The Firsts," where they believed they were carrying on the mission of the first and true LDS church, when polygamy was the norm. So off he trots to Utah to see his mother and then gets involved in trying to prove her innocence. At the same time, there is another thread running in this book, the story of another 19th wife, Ann Eliza Young, who married Brigham Young and then squared off against him and the whole polygamy issue publicly. The present-day story is minor compared to Ann Eliza's story, beginning with her mother's conversion to Mormonism and then her descent into the hell that was polygamy after the prophet had a revelation from God that men should take more than one wife. The two stories are interspersed, but Ann Eliza's story is (imho) the better of the two. More than the present-day story, her story had me glued to the book.
The characters were well drawn and Ebershoff did a fine job with the whole polygamy thing, especially describing the plight of the children from polygamous marriages. This is not something I probably would have picked up at a bookstore, but the topic intrigued me and the story got my dander up. I would say that Ebershoff's done his job as a writer -- getting the reader very involved. Personally, if he'd have left it with the story of Ann Eliza, I probably would have liked it better.
I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in the topic of polygamy, and if you liked this one, try Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven.
Couldn't Put it Down August 18, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
After the recent headlines of the polygamous cult in Texas, I bought this book out of curiousity. I've been reading several books lately on the subject of polygamy, trying to understand the reasoning, the faith, the beliefs behind it.
Initially, the "jumping back and forth" from present-day back to the 1800's was a little jarring, but soon I found I could not put this book down. The weaving of fact and fiction in this book has been done so well, it's like a beautiful tapestry that envelopes you completely with its story. After I finished reading, I found myself on the internet, trying to get more information about events that the author mentions in his book - what was true? What wasn't?
The book is a wonderful blend of history, humor, tragedy...and I think what amazed me most was that the author, a modern-day man, was so able to describe the feelings of an 18th-century plural wife. Wonderful book.
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