06: The 19th Wife

The play opened last night, and even for a one-scene character, it's a long time and a lot of work! Hopefully I can get some pics...but we have a matinee and an evening performance, so who knows?! Hey hey hey, looks like I made a few!

The 19th Wife
Avid Eberschoff
Published: 2009

Why?: My friend Brenda (she’s like a friend-in-law, because she’s my mother’s best friend and I claim her too!) lent us a pile of books because she knows the way to our hearts. Out of the pile, this is the one that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The two stories meld together seamlessly, and the parallels between a modern gay man and a 19th century polygamist bride are drawn without preaching or shoving it down your throat. This is an engrossing novel both in the modern day murder mystery and the fictionalization of a real woman of the past.



Gist: The 19th Wife follows two storylines: the first is about a Lost Boy – a boy kicked out of polygamist sects, apparently to lower the competition for young brides. Now a young man on the streets, Jordan Scott finds out that his mother has been arrested for the murder of his father. Deftly intertwined with this modern-day narrative is the story of Anne Eliza Young, revealed through everything from Wikipedia entries to diary excerpts.

Bonus Trivia: This book was turned into a movie by Lifetime TV, but I haven’t seen it.

Perfect For: Ages 17+




Yes, Bob's tongue is sticking out. This could be because I interrupted his reading, or it COULD be that he wanders around like this all the time.

Genres: Fiction, Novel
Keywords: Drama, History, Mystery