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David Ebershoff

Goodreads author profile

born

Los Angeles, CA, The United States

gender

male

website

http://www.ebershoff.com

genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

member since

April 2009

About this author

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David Ebershoff is the author of three bestselling novels and a short story collection. His debut, THE DANISH GIRL, won the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Lambda Literary Award, and an American Library Association Book Award. It is being adapted into a feature film with Nicole Kidman. His second novel, PASADENA, was named a Wall Street Journal Editor’s Pick, a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, and became a New York Times bestseller. His short story collection, THE ROSE CITY, won the Ferro-Grumley Award and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

His third novel, THE 19TH WIFE, was an immediate international bestseller, landing on the New York Times bestseller list and reaching #1 in...more David Ebershoff is the author of three bestselling novels and a short story collection. His debut, THE DANISH GIRL, won the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Lambda Literary Award, and an American Library Association Book Award. It is being adapted into a feature film with Nicole Kidman. His second novel, PASADENA, was named a Wall Street Journal Editor’s Pick, a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, and became a New York Times bestseller. His short story collection, THE ROSE CITY, won the Ferro-Grumley Award and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

His third novel, THE 19TH WIFE, was an immediate international bestseller, landing on the New York Times bestseller list and reaching #1 in Britain. The book was a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award, the Utah Book Award, and the Galaxy British Book Award. It has half a million copies in print in English alone.

The novel has been described as "Wonderfully lyrical. . . . it does that thing all good novels do: It entertains us." – The Los Angeles Times.

"Coming on the heels of the news-making raid on the FLDS polygamist sect in Texas, this lyrical yet fact-packed epic about the Mormon practice of plural marriage is both timely and transporting. Ebershoff intertwines a modern-day murder mystery with a sweeping historical saga; his title refers to the real-life wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, who fled her husband and ditched her faith in 1873. Based on Ann Eliza's groundbreaking 1875 memoir, Wife No. 19, and her subsequent campaign to make polygamy illegal, Ebershoff re-creates her struggles as a "sister wife," bringing to life the jealousies, insecurities and financial hardships of being one of a string of spouses -- all of whom Brigham claimed to marry in honor of God. Equally compelling is the book's gritty contemporary story of another 19th wife -- from a renegade cult in the remote desert -- accused of killing her husband after he tells her he will no longer sleep with her. This wife is ultimately redeemed by her gay son, whom she abandoned (under orders from the sect's 'Prophet') when he was 14. Ebershoff's exhaustive research and deft prose combine to make his third novel a literary tour de force."

"A compelling portrait of the beginnings and ends of Mormon polygamy, and a marvelous examination of its effects on women (the obvious sufferers) and men (also brutalized, the author shows). The 19th Wife is an exploration of how and whether community is possible after a loss of belief." —Newsday

Since 1996, Ebershoff has been on staff at Random House. For many years he was the publishing director of Random House's classics imprint, the Modern Library - www.modernlibrary.com. He is currently an editor-at-large for Random House, editing a wide range of fiction and non-fiction writers including David Mitchell, Charles Bock, Billy Collins, Gary Shteyngart, Diane Keaton, Shirin Ebadi, Azadeh Moaveni, Ronald C. White, Jr., and Katha Pollitt.

Ebershoff has taught creative writing at New York University and Princeton and currently teaches in the MFA program at Columbia University.

Originally from Pasadena, California, Ebershoff is a graduate of the Polytechnic School, Brown University, and the University of Chicago. He lives in New York City.(less)

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Books by David Ebershoff

Average rating: 3.58 · 19,805 ratings · 3,861 reviews · 8 distinct works

	The 19th Wife 3.58 avg rating — 19,029 ratings — published 2008 — 25 editions	My rating:
	The Danish Girl 3.64 avg rating — 571 ratings — published 2000 — 17 editions	My rating:
	Pasadena: A Novel 3.36 avg rating — 227 ratings — published 2002 — 8 editions	My rating:
	The Rose City: Stories 3.43 avg rating — 35 ratings — 5 editions	My rating:
	The 19th wife 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	My rating:
	The 19th Wife (Random House Reader's Circle Deluxe Reading Group Edition): A Novel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — expected publication 2012	My rating:
	The 19th Wife 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2008	My rating:
	A Rapariga Dinamarquesa 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2000	My rating:

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David's Recent Updates

David Ebershoff made a comment on his profile "You're welcome. I hope you enjoy THE ORPHAN MASTER'S SON. "
Jan 31, 2012 04:08am
David Ebershoff is now friends with Avry15
Jan 31, 2012 01:24am
David Ebershoff gave to: Moby Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville	My rating:
Dec 03, 2011 06:07am
David Ebershoff gave to: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka	My rating:
Nov 17, 2011 07:04am
David Ebershoff voted for The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands in Best Poetry in the Semifinal Round of the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. cast your vote
Nov 16, 2011 12:20pm
David Ebershoff gave to: Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Jul 26, 2011 05:11am
David Ebershoff gave to: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Jul 18, 2011 05:46am
David Ebershoff gave to: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld read in June, 2008	My rating:
This is one of the best novels of the last decade.
Jul 11, 2011 05:22am · see review
David Ebershoff gave to: A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother by Janny Scott	My rating:
Jul 11, 2011 05:15am
David Ebershoff gave to: A Partial History of Lost Causes: A Novel by Jennifer Dubois	My rating:
Jul 04, 2011 05:48am

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Quotes by David Ebershoff

“Last year when my grandma fell and broke her hip she couldn't paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa started doing it for her, even after he fell and broke his hip, too. For me, that's love.”
― David Ebershoff, The 19th Wife

13 people liked it

“I know someone loves me from how they say my name. Like with my mom and dad, when they say "Benjamin" it's like my name is safe in their mouth.”
― David Ebershoff

10 people liked it

“I trust you have seen the ocean. If you have, then you have witnessed the divine. How barren the ground is in comparison! If I could count the hours I have spent staring out at it! And yet those hours never feel lost. I cannot imagine how else I could refill them were I given a second chance.”
― David Ebershoff, The 19th Wife

5 people liked it

See all David Ebershoff's quotes »

Polls

Which book would you like to read for our January 1 - February 1 History group read?

The 19th Wife A Novel by David Ebershoff

11 votes, 45.8%

Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow

7 votes, 29.2%

Daughter of Fortune A Novel by Isabel Allende

6 votes, 25.0%

24 total votes

1 comment

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