The 19th Wife Audiobook By David Ebershoff cover art

The 19th Wife

A Novel

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The 19th Wife

By: David Ebershoff
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey, Daniel Passer
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Buy for $24.75

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Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.

Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense.

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.

And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’ s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.

Praise for The 19th Wife

“This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult . . . Ebershoff brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man. . . . With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)©2008 David Ebershoff; (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Accolades & Awards

The Publishing Triangle Award
2009
Literary Fiction The Publishing Triangle Award Marriage Murder Mystery Genre Fiction Crime Mormon Fiction Thriller & Suspense Historical Suspense Emotionally Gripping

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Interwoven Storylines • Fascinating History • Multiple Narrators • Compelling Mystery • Well-researched Content

Highly rated for:

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When I think Mormon, I think many wives, Utah, and a pageant in Upstate NY, pretty much in that order. This book offered an insight into the Mormon religion and customs that I hadn't heard before and much, much more than my initial thoughts of Mormonism. The book is a little difficult to follow switching from reader to reader with the various research findings, but worth the effort.

More than multiple wives

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Would you consider the audio edition of The 19th Wife to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Different voices for different perspectivs.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, although it wasn't possible.

Any additional comments?

This book gave fascinating insights into Mormonism and polygenous marriage in the context of absorbing fiction.

Fascinating insights into Mormonism

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enjoyed jumping back and forth from historical to present day, fiction and non fiction all wrapped up in one.

Educational and a riveting story at the same time

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I loved this book. I learned a lot about Mormons and polygamy reading this. This book contains two parallel stories, one of modern day polygamy and one of the beginnings of polygamy in Utah and how it became illegal. I live in Utah, but am not a native, so I found this absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone as it is a riveting story.

Amazing

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I liked all of the voices and the stories woven together! I made the mistake of starting this during law school finals and would take little breaks to listen to bits of it but I almost couldn't stop to go back to work!

Almost couldn't stop when I needed to do things!

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