The 19th Wife

Ann Eliza Young was the 19th wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young. Although raised in a culture of polygamy, she was never able to completely quell her doubts about the religious basis of this practice, unlike her mother, who had been converted to the church and convinced to share her husband by founder Joseph Smith. Ann Eliza eventually divorced Brigham, amid great public scrutiny and media coverage. She was able to support herself by touring the nation on the lecture circuit, telling the story of her life and pleading for the legal abolition of polygamy.

The author skillfully intertwines her fictionalized biography with the story of a modern-day 19th wife, accused of murdering her husband moments after being told he was taking a new wife. Themes of women's rights and strong religious beliefs are combined with an exploration of the original Mormon customs upon which the polygamy was based, the problems it created and its eventual renunciation by the Mormon Church.

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