The 19th Wife

Ebershoff's story moves between the past and the present to reveal much about the practice and inner politics of polygamy through the ages. Ann Eliza, Brigham Young's nineteenth wife, has divorced her husband and advocates the end of polygamy. Quotations from Young's 1875 writings merge with the narrator's driving voice to convince listeners of her powerful personality, her belief in her right to equality, and her anger at the cold treatment she receives from her community. Just as strong is the depiction of Jordan, the son of a contemporary nineteenth wife who is accused of murdering her husband. The narrator's portrayal of Jordan conveys his sadness at having been abandoned by his mother, as well as other aspects of his heartbreaking past that belie his strength as he seeks to prove his mother's innocence. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 23, 2008
This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult not recognized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka the Mormon church). Ebershoff (The Danish Girl
) brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man whose mother, another 19th wife, is accused of murdering his polygamist father, a member of the fundamentalist First Latter-day Saints, in Mesadale, Ariz. Excommunicated from the church at 14, Jordan tirelessly works, with help from local sympathizers, to unmask his father's true killer. In an author's note, Ebershoff explains how his character differs from the actual Ann Eliza, who published two autobiographies, the first of which helped put pressure on the Mormon church to renounce polygamy in 1890. With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.

Starred review from October 27, 2008
This sweeping epic is a compelling and original work set in 1875, when one woman attempts to rid America of polygamy. Ebershoff intertwines his tale with that of a 20th-century murder mystery in Utah, allowing the two stories to twist and turn into a marvelous literary experience. With such a sprawling tale to relate, a few narrators (Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey and Daniel Passer) divide up the roles and deliver a solid, professional reading, true to Ebershoff’s prose. A Random House hardcover (Reviews, June 23).

October 15, 2008
Ebershoff's (www.ebershoff.comThe Danish Girl, a New York Times Notable Book soon to be adapted to film, and the New York Times best seller Pasadenais both a chronicle of one woman's fight to end polygamy in the 19th century and a modern-day murder mystery. Unfortunately, having multiple narratorsKimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey, Daniel Passercan be confusing; further, the CDs have neither disc number announcements at their start nor end-of-disc announcements at their conclusion. Recommended for medium-sized and large public libraries; academic libraries might also consider. [Audio clips available through library.booksontape.comNew York Times best seller.Ed.]David Faucheux, Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svc., Inc., Lafayette

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