Books Set in the United States: Utah

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (2008)

The 19th Wife is the story of two women in polygamous marriages ~ one during the time of Brigham Young, and one in present day. Both are the 19th wives of polygamous husbands. The story, which is historical fiction, seamlessly goes between the lives of the two women using a variety of literary techniques. Ann Eliza, a wife of Brigham Young, is told through her own voice, through memoirs of others, depositions, letters and newspaper articles. BeckyLyn Scott’s story is told through the eyes of her son, Jordan. BeckyLyn belongs to a closed fundamentalist separatist sect known as the Firsts, an offshoot of Mormonism.

Ann Eliza Young is a real historical figure. She was more than 40 years his junior. She is generally considered to have been Brigham Young’s 19th wife, although as the author describes, Mormon math likely brings her number in his series of marriages to have been much higher.

BeckyLyn is totally fictional. She, too, was decades younger than her husband. The story begins when BeckyLyn is arrested, ostensibly for the murder of her husband. Although a few years earlier she had dropped off her son in the middle of the night with instructions to live on his own, when Jordan finds out his mother is incarcerated, he visits her. He is convinced that she did not shoot her husband and seeks clear her name.

Ann Eliza’s mother converted to Mormonism by Joseph Smith before the original Mormon exodus from New York and ultimately settling in Utah. For many years, Ann Eliza’s father was married only to her mother, however, after years of living within the Mormon community, they are pressured into entering into a “celestial” marriage. Joseph Smith has informed the community that he heard the word of the LORD and that the only way into heaven is to allow a husband to have many wives. The multiple marriages cut deeply with the women in the marriages.

Ann Eliza sees what having multiple “sister wives” has done to her mother and vows not to be a part of one herself. She marries a man who turns out to be a freeloader. Brigham Young helps her get a divorce, thereby clearing any obstacles that impede upon his designs on her. When Ann Eliza’s brother, Gilbert, gets caught in financial trouble, Brigham Young promises to get him out from under his debt in return for marriage to Ann Eliza.

Ann Eliza finally stood up to her husband and became a public speaker crusading against polygamy. Through Ann Eliza, we learn of the dynamics of polygamous life in the early history of Mormonism. Though BeckyLyn, we learn of life in the present day separatists communities, where men marry increasingly younger girls, and teenage boys are discarded for being viewed as “competition” to the older men seeking the young girls.

Although the Mormons officially renounced polygamy in 1890, the practice is still present in splinter groups scattered throughout the remote areas of Utah. The author describes how such groups live and allows wives and children collect welfare from the government, which because it does not recognize multiple marriage.

In a side story, we learn that Jordan is gay, something that is a taboo subject in the closed fundamentalist community where he grew up.

I loved this book. Although it was over 500 pages, the story was very compelling.

Read: March 8, 2010