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Book review: The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff

Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by Rachael in Books, Reviews

The 19th Wife is a book of two intertwined tales; one is a true story based in 19th century America at the time the Mormon Church was founded and the other is a fictional modern day murder mystery.

The controversial subject of polygamy is central to this book. I chose to read it for the same reasons that I like to watch documentaries on this subject…part voyeurism and partly because I wanted to learn more about something that is so far removed from everything I know.

Half of the book follows the true-life story of historical figure Ann Eliza Young. Her story from birth to death is told using facts from old books and documents and is blended in with a tad of creative writing where there are holes in the accounts of her life. Ann Eliza’s mother and father were close friends of Joseph Smith, the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also known as Mormons.

We get an insight of the genuine love and happiness of her parents’ marriage, and how that was challenged when they we forced due to ‘the will of God’ to take another wife into the family.

Ann Eliza herself became one of the many wives of Joseph Smith’s successor – “The Prophet” Brigham Young. The description of how she came to marry this vile, all-powerful man is frustrating and upsetting, as is the account of the horrendous wagon train journey from the East to the West of America, in a quest to find Zion.

Partly thanks to Ann Eliza Young’s crusade, polygamy is now illegal in America. However, some fundamentalist sects still actively practice polygamy and still profess that it is God’s will.

The book’s other story introduces us to a young gay man, Jordan Scott. He is the son of a prominent member of a polygamist sect, based in the Utah desert. Thrown out of his family and community in his early teens, Jordan is left to fend for himself in a world he knows nothing about. When his father is shot and his mother arrested and charged with murder, Jordon returns to find out the truth.

The juxtaposition of these two stories is just what is needed to drive this book forward. One chapter adds light, where the previous one was dark.

I wasn’t quite prepared for how gritty this book would be, or for how angry I felt on behalf of the women and children (and some men) who suffered under such oppression.

One reviewer called this book “ambitious”, I couldn’t agree more. It’s an epic book in both story and size (605 pages) and I would recommend that you only approach it if you’re feeling ambitious too. All in all I really did enjoy this book. It is well written and has everything you could ask for: love, loss, jealousy, intrigue and family-life in the extremes.

The 19^th Wife has been hugely successful – it has its own beautifully done website and even a trailer. Even if you feel this book isn’t quite up your street, check these out by clicking on the links below…I think you’ll be impressed:

Website & video clip trailer

Tags: David Ebershoff, Mormon, polygamy, The 19th Wife

Rachael Holden

Author for the online friendship and dating site Sparkle

Rachael - has written 29 posts on Sparkle in my life. Contact the author

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