The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff

02

This was a great book! Not only did I enjoy the story but I also learned a lot and found the topic so interesting. There are actually 2 stories that take place, each centering on the 19th wife in a plural marriage, also known as polygamy, in the Mormon community. One story takes place in the 1800’s and is all about how the Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Latter Day Saints, came to be. The story starts at the very beginning when Joseph Smith, the founder of the religion, first received his calling. It goes on to show how he recruited thousands of followers from both the US and Europe and how they ended up in Utah. The story also describes how this one man, “The Prophet”, convinced his followers to accept the concept of plural marriage. The story focuses on one family, starting with the matriarch of the family, Elizabeth Churchill, how she came to be one of Josephs followers, how she did what the Church told her to do, how she managed to embrace plural marriage, and how it affected her and her family. The story is told by her daughter, Ann Eliza, who is very famous or shall I say infamous in the history of the Mormon Church. She is a real person who eventually becomes Brigham Young’s (one of the most well known prophets) 19^th wife. In the end, Ann Eliza was responsible for bringing Brigham Young down as well as attempting to rid the world of polygamy forever. It was interesting to see how in the beginning people did what they believed was the right thing to do for their eternal salvation but how it affected the woman and children and even the men of these times. The other story is a modern day story of polygamy in Utah also centering on the 19^th wife in a polygamous marriage. Jordan Scott is the son of this 19th wife, who is said to have murdered her husband. As a teenager Jordon was excommunicated and thrown out of his home and the community just for holding a girls hand. As you can imagine Jordan has some extremely bitter feeling towards his family and even his mother for kicking him out and forcing him to survive on his own at such a young age. After being away from the Mormons and this life for so long he does comes back to try and save his mother and prove her innocence. Again this is a fascinating look into this very private world of the Mormons and polygamy and how it affects everyone in the family. I highly recommend this book. The book is a long one, just over 500 pages, but well worth the time.

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