The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

The 19th Wife

by David Ebershoff

Jordan returns from California to Utah to visit his mother in jail. As a teenager he was expelled from his family and religious community, a secretive Mormon offshoot sect. Now his father has been found shot dead in front of his computer, and one of his many wives - Jordan's mother - is accused of the crime. Over a century earlier, Ann Eliza Young, the nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, Prophet and Leader of the Mormon Church, tells the sensational story of how her own parents were drawn into plural marriage, and how she herself battled for her freedom and escaped her powerful husband, to lead a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. Bold, shocking and gripping, "The 19th Wife" expertly weaves together these two narratives: a pageturning literary mystery and an enthralling epic of love and faith.

Reviewed by ladygrey on

1 of 5 stars

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I really didn't enjoy this book much. I found the historical aspect of the story interesting. But the main character in the present day story I found completely unlikable so, not only did I not care what happened to him, I really didn't want to hear about.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 March, 2009: Finished reading
  • 1 March, 2009: Reviewed