The 19th Wife
The gripping Richard and Judy bookclub page turner
Will be published approx. on 2. January 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
608 pages
978-0-552-77498-7 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
The multiplicity of perspectives serves to broaden Ebershoff's depiction not only of polygamy, but also of the people whose lives it informs. And this gives his novel a rare sense of moral urgency * The New York Times Book Review * A marvellous evocation of pioneer life... But his sympathy is with Eliza Young and other women trapped in what the Mormons termed 'celestial marriages' * Daily Mail * Beautifully written... genuinely enthralling * Literary Review * Engrossing... vivid... packed with historical illumination, unforgettable characters... the greatest triumph is the way all this material illuminates the larger landscape of faith * Washington Post * Intelligent, compelling, with several decent twists * Guardian * Gripping and beautifully written * RED Magazine * Delivers a dazzling high wire act between fact and fiction, and shines light from every angle on the divisive topic of American polygamy in a compelling and timely novel -- Danny Scheinmann, author of Random Acts of Heroic Love Coming on the heels of the newsmaking raid on the FLDS polygamist sect in Texas, this lyrical yet fact-packed epic about the Mormon practice of plural marriage is both timely and transporting... a literary tour de force * People Magazine * Ebershoff's sensitive and topical tale of hijacked religion and sexual tyranny, true community and freedom, provides much food for thought in the mode of such seriously popular writers as Jodi Picoult * Booklist (starred & 'Up Front' review) * The 19th Wife is a big book, in every sense of the word... it does that thing all good novels do: it entertains us * LA Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
409 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-552-77498-7 (9780552774987)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2008
1st Edition
Transworld Digital
€6.99
Available for download
Person
David Ebershoff is the author of four books, including The Danish Girl and the #1 bestseller The 19th Wife. The Danish Girl was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Academy Award-winners Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild awards, and five BAFTAs. The 19th Wife was made into a television movie that has aired around the globe. Ebershoff's books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages to critical acclaim and twice Out Magazine has named him to its annual Out 100 list of influential LGBT people. David had a long career as an editor at Random House, where he edited more than twenty New York Times bestsellers and three Pulitzer Prize winners and a winner of the National Book Award. He teaches in the graduate writing program at Columbia University.