"Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. Now, with the publication of this autobiography, my enemies will no doubt suspect my motives....Simply, I wish to expose the tragic state of polygamy's women, who must live in bondage not seen in this country since the abolishment of slavery a decade ago; and to reveal the lamentable situation of its children, lonely as they are."
-Ann Eliza Young, 1874, from the novel
Anticipating a trip to Utah I searched our library for Utah fiction and The 19th Wife popped up. The description intrigued me so I checked out the e-version for my Kindle to read during our journey. I didn't realize it was 500+ pages but I did finish it by the end of our 10-day tour of the Utah national parks.
Our Road Scholar tour began in St. George, UT which was founded by Mormons, a fact I didn't know before we arrived. The first day and a half of our program involved some local history which made the book even more interesting since it is set in SW Utah and St. George is even one of the settings of the story.
The author weaves two stories---of nineteenth century Ann Eliza Young, one of many wives of Brigham Young who becomes an apostate of the Mormon church and a fervent crusader against polygamy. She is an actual historic figure and in fact, wrote 2 autobiographies called Wife No.19 (1875) and Life in Mormon Bondage (1908). (I refer you to the quote above). Though she refers to herself as the 19th wife, there is much confusion as to her actual position.
The second story, set in the 21st century, involves Jordan Scott, a young man who was excommunicated by the LDS church and kicked out by his mother at the age of 13. When Jordan discovers that his mother has been arrested for murdering his father, he is compelled to return to SW Utah and gets caught up in trying to prove her innocence. One would expect Ann Eliza's and Jordan's stories to eventually connect and they do in an interesting way.
The author includes "documents"---sermons, letters, research pieces, news articles, etc. that move Ann Eliza's story forward, sometimes informative but often slowing the pace of the plot. (Some are apparently based on fact or may be actual documents.) I found the interview with the author quite fascinating---how he came to write this novel and why he chose the story-in-a-story format.
Before reading the novel, I knew little about the Mormon faith or history. Mostly I knew members are required to do mission work and many have large families. What I learned from the novel didn't shed a very positive light on the subject. In spite of the controversy of celestial marriage the author admits Brigham Young had a huge impact on the settling of the West. I can't help but wonder how a person of the Mormon faith would react to The 19th Wife. I will rate it a 3.5. I'm glad I read it, it served my purpose and it was informative. Some parts I found engaging and others, a bit tedious. Probably not for everyone!
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