The 19th Wife

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 July 1, 2008
Polygamy breeds controversy and raises profound emotional and ethical questions. Recent legal battles with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spotlight concerns over cult-sanctioned sexual abuse, and now in steps an incisive and entertaining novelist with a deep interest in sexual politics. Ebershoff (The Danish Girl, 2000; Pasadena, 2002) discovered the perfect historic guide to the psychological complexity of polygamy inAnn Eliza Young, the rebellious nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, who courageously revealed the truth about plural marriage in her headline-grabbing memoirs and lecture tour. Ebershoff cleverly parallels Ann Elizas tumultuous life with the stifled existence of a present-day nineteenth wife, BeckyLyn, who is accused of murdering her husband. BeckyLyns son Jordan, cast out of the First Latter-day Saints compound at 14 and now an outed gay man, returns to help and soon acquires a tough little sidekick in Johnny, a quick-witted, foulmouthed cult runaway. Great fun to read with its enticing characters, swift dialogue, and neatly structured plot, Ebershoffs sensitive and topical tale of hijacked religion and sexual tyranny, true community and freedom, provides much food for thought in the mode of such seriously popular writers as Jodi Picoult, Anna Quindlen, and Andre Dubus III.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)