The 19th Wife

A Novel

By: David Ebershoff

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey

Length: 19 hrs

Publisher's summary

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, listeners are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.

©2008 David Ebershoff (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult...Ebershoff 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...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.” (Publishers Weekly - starred review)

Fantastic!

How good was this? Really, really good! Ebershoff is a wonderful writer who absolutely gets inside the head of a wide range of characters. If you're looking for a romping fast read, this might not be for you, but the interweaving of the two stories--one from the early days of the LDS, one in the present, involving a splinter group of the LDS--is well done and keeps you coming back to see what develops. The historical detail is beautiful, and Ebershoff balances religious tolerance and sound moral judgment admirably well.

Fascinating History of the Mormon Church

Loved how the two stories intertwined throughout the book. The narration is one of the best I have ever heard. Perfect voices for all of the characters & tone of the story. Could not put it down from the moment I started listening. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book!

Good story but a bit....

It is a really interesting history but if you weren't paying attention you would lose who was talking and about who. But overall it was ok...

Not what I expected

My book club picked this - it's a few years old now, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's a topic I knew very little about, and I would never have picked this for myself. It got a little long at the end, but otherwise a good listen!

Outstanding

Wonderful narration of a brilliant manuscript by an author who respects a scholarly approach to historical fiction.

Very interesting and unable to stop listening

I thought this was an interesting book that I didn't want to stop listening to - great read.

The 19th Wife

I loved this book! My favorite genre is historical fiction and I did not know a lot about the history of the Mormon religion before I read (listened to) this book. It makes me want to learn more. I have been telling everyone to read (or listen to) it. One of my friends started reading it and said she was having a hard time switching between the different narrators. I told her that listening to it probably helped with that because the different voices eliminate confusion when the narrator changes.

A Book Within A Book

The interwoven stories of a present-day FLDS tragedy (not Fundamentalist LDS in this novel, but First LDS) and historical retelling of the Smith and Young stories were interesting enough to make this a three-day "read" for me. I didn't have any trouble keeping the past and present stories separate, and did find they were closely related to each other by theme, so not an odd coupling. I'd recommend it to those of you who are watching HBO's Big Love (insert smile here).

This book was excellent!

I loved the narrator's cadence and tone. This topic is absolutely fascinating to me. The story was written well and kept my interest. If you have any curiosity in early Mormon history, I highly recommend reading The 19th Wife. Even if you merely have interest in women history in the US, I would recommend. great history lesson while incorporating a true story.

Wow!

Well written tome about a subject I knew very little. Most of the novel was easy to follow but the back and forth nature from past to present was sometimes confusing. I did not like the profanity. Some otherwise raw language describing bedroom activities that was uncomfortable.
Otherwise a great education into history. Nice mention of other noteworthy 1800’s women such as Victoria Woodhull, etc. Recommended reading.