The 19th Wife: A Novel

The 19th Wife combines historical fiction with a modern murder mystery. The novel is set in 1875, when Ann Eliza Young separates from her husband Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and cast out, Ann Eliza launches a campaign to end polygamy in the United States. Her story reveals a family's polygamous history and how a young woman became a plural wife. Parallel to Ann Eliza's narrative is a contemporary story set in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was expelled from his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must return to that world to uncover the truth about his father's death. As the two narratives intertwine, the novel explores mysteries surrounding love and faith, examining both the historical roots of polygamy and its modern manifestations.