Wife No 19

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)

The big passionate novel of a woman daring to live and love freely—no matter what the price. She was forced to choose between one man's love and her own pride as a woman. Brigham married one woman too many when he took Ann Eliza Webb as his twenty-seventh wife. He was the leader of the polygamous Mormon faith, as powerful in the Utah Territory as the President of the United States. She was a great beauty with a quiet manner—and an iron will. For four years, Eliza lived in Brigham Young's harem as his 27th wife. Then, one summer morning, she walked out, deserting her husband and suing him for divorce...

Rebecca Musser grew up in fear, concealing her family's polygamous lifestyle from the "dangerous" outside world. Covered head-to-toe in strict, modest clothing, she received a rigorous education at Alta Academy, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' school headed by Warren Jeffs. Always seeking to be an obedient Priesthood girl, in her teens she became the nineteenth wife of her people's prophet: 85-year-old Rulon Jeffs, Warren's father. Finally sickened by the abuse she suffered and saw around her, she pulled off a daring escape and sought to build a new life and family. The church, however, had a way of pulling her back in-and by 2007, Rebecca had no choice but to take the witness stand against the new prophet of the FLDS in order to protect her little sisters and other young girls from being forced to marry at shockingly young ages. The following year, Rebecca and the rest of the world watched as a team of Texas Rangers raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch, a stronghold of the FLDS. Rebecca's subsequent testimony would reveal the horrific secrets taking place behind closed doors of the temple, sending their leaders to prison for years, and Warren Jeffs for life. THE WITNESS WORE RED is a gripping account of one woman's struggle to escape the perverse embrace of religious fanaticism and sexual slavery, and a courageous story of hope and transformation.

When the imperious Alston, Marquis of Falcon cynically announces that he is interested in marrying his daughter in order to gain a Royal appointment, the Earl of Warnborough is thoroughly pleased.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ There would be many benefits to being part of his far richer neighbourÕs family and estates! But the beautiful Mirabel is already betrothed and so is Deirdre, albeit secretly, which leaves only Elmina, the youngest and the Cinderella of the Warne familyÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Nevertheless they are all shocked when she shyly says that she will be happy to marry the dashing Marquis.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ But not as stunned as her new husband when she repels his wedding night advances with an expert Karate move!ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Self-educated and schooled in the martial and equine arts, Elmina blossoms inwardly and outwardly with an unusual allure of her own.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ And she prays that her handsome new husband will come to love her for herself. But, when she is kidnapped by murderous horse thieves, it seems that she will die without knowing the love she yearns for ÐÊ

The compelling memoir of the nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In 1869, Ann Eliza Young married Brigham Young, becoming what she believed to be his nineteenth wife. She went on to file for divorce in 1873, alleging neglect, cruel treatment, and desertion. She was excommunicated from the church in 1874, and the divorce was granted the following year. She would go on to lead a fight against polygamy, Mormonism, and Brigham Young, testifying before US Congress. In Wife No. 19, Young shares her account of her life in the LDS Church. It served as an exposé, detailing the treatment of herself and other female church members. Originally published in 1876, this autobiography went on to be the basis of Irving Wallace’s 1961 biography The Twenty-Seventh Wife, as well as David Ebershoff’s 2008 novel, The 19th Wife.

From the author of The Good Sister, the breakout New York Times bestseller and “stunningly clever thriller” (People), comes Sally Hepworth’s next novel of domestic suspense about the tangled vines of family secrets. "Smart, suspenseful, brimming with secrets. This is Sally Hepworth at her unputdownable best."––Kate Morton, New York Times Bestselling Author THE HUSBAND A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself. THE DAUGHTERS Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father’s fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she’s after their father’s money. THE FORMER WIFE With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family’s secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is. THE YOUNGER WIFE Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses in all of them? More Praise for The Younger Wife: "[An] appealing domestic suspense novel from bestseller Hepworth [with a] fast-moving plot. This often funny and affecting outing should win Hepworth new fans."––Publishers Weekly "Completely compulsive. Sally Hepworth delivers with this stay-up-late one-more-chapter gem."––Jane Harper, New York Times Bestselling Author "A warped tale [that] boasts Jane Harper’s multilayered characters and Liane Moriarty’s wealthy suburban world saturated with lies and deceit. With each domestic thriller, best-selling Hepworth shines brighter and draws in more readers."––Booklist

A campaigner for women's rights This is a remarkable and controversial book by any standards. The verdict is still out on whether its author Ann Eliza Young (formerly Webb) presented her case with complete impartiality, but certainly its contents are sufficiently detailed to reveal shocking and extraordinary details of her experiences during her time as a pluralist wife of Brigham Young of the Latter-Day Saints. A child of Mormon parents, Ann entered into her marriage with Young when he was 67 years old and she was 24, a divorcee and the mother of two children. Her writings on her experiences of the Mormon lifestyle in Utah make gripping reading and her book is filled with accounts of privation, cruelty and violence. She filed for divorce from Brigham Young in 1873 and went on to become an outspoken advocate for the rights of women in 19th century America and an ardent and campaigning opponent of polygamous marriage. This book is her account of her life as one of Young's wives and on its original publication propelled Ann into the public arena and became a best seller of its day. It still makes compelling reading. Available in softcover and hardcover for collectors.

Telling Terror in Judges 19 explores the value of performing a ‘reparative reading’ of the terror-filled story of the Levite’s pilegesh (commonly referred to as the Levite’s concubine) in Judges 19, and how such a reparative reading can be brought to bear upon elements of modern rape culture. Historically, the story has been used as a morality tale to warn young women about what constitutes appropriate behaviour. More recently, (mainly male) commentators have tended to write the woman out of the story, by making claims about its purpose and theme which bear no relation to her suffering. In response to this, feminist critics have attempted to write the woman back into the story, generally using the hermeneutics of suspicion. This book begins by surveying some of the traditional commentators, and the three great feminist commentators of the text (Bal, Exum and Trible). It then offers a reparative reading by attending to the pilegesh’s surprising prominence, her moral and marital agency, and her speaking voice. In the final chapter, there is a detailed comparison of the story with elements of modern rape culture.