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Title details for The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff - Available

The 19th Wife

A Novel

by David Ebershoff
ebook
3 of 3 copies available
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3 of 3 copies available
“A literary tour de force . . . [David] Ebershoff intertwines a modern-day murder mystery with a sweeping historical saga.”—People (4 out of 4 stars)
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 her family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how both she and her mother became plural wives. Yet 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. As Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love, family, and faith.
This new deluxe eBook edition features more than sixty-five additional pages of exclusive, author-approved annotations throughout the text, which contain new illustrations and photographs, to enrich your reading experience.
Praise for The 19th Wife
“Engrossing . . . remarkable . . . a book packed with historical illumination, unforgettable characters and the deepest questions about the tenacity of belief . . . The greatest triumph is the way [The 19th Wife] illuminates the larger landscapes of faith.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Wonderfully lyrical . . . The 19th Wife is a big book, in every sense of the word. It sweeps across time and delves deeply into a world long hidden from sight . . . and in the process it does that thing all good novels do: It entertains us.”—Los Angeles Times
“Rarely has a work of fiction seemed more timely. . . . A page-turning epic . . . [a] tour de force.”—Vogue
“Wonderful . . . as chilling as it is entertaining.”—New York Daily News
“Part history class, part exposé, part love story, The 19th Wife is thoroughly addictive. . . . Ebershoff not only imparts a valuable lesson on religion, but spins a compelling tale that makes readers question the power of faith and what we believe and why.”—USA Today
“Ambitious . . . fascinating . . . Ebershoff demonstrates abundant virtuosity, as he convincingly inhabits the voices of both a nineteenth-century Mormon wife and a contemporary gay youth excommunicated from the church, while also managing to say something about the mysterious power of faith.”—The New Yorker

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 5, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780679645542

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780679645542
      • File size: 2504 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      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).

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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