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25th out of 33 books
—
66 voters
Wife No. 19
The story of a life in bondage, being a complete expose of Mormonism, and revealing the sorrows, sacrifices and sufferings of women in polygamy, by Brigham Young's apostate wife. Born and reared in the midst of the Mormon people, it was inevitable that Mrs. Young would accept their practices and beliefs. After breaking away from the Mormon faith, she endeavored to expose e...more
Paperback, 628 pages
Published
March 10th 2003
by Kessinger Publishing
(first published 1875)
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Apr 06, 2008
LeGrand
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people wanting to take a closer look at early mormonism and polygamy
This book was a tad disturbing for me. I wouldn't say this book is anti-mormon.. but i would say that it paints a picture of life as a "saint" during the days of joseph and brigham in quite an unflattering/honest/painful/disturbing way.
I really struggled with this book because i genuinely believe the author is telling the truth about her life and the lives of early mormon saints. i have read books by d. michael quinn that also portray early mormonism as problematic but somehow this books had a m...more
I really struggled with this book because i genuinely believe the author is telling the truth about her life and the lives of early mormon saints. i have read books by d. michael quinn that also portray early mormonism as problematic but somehow this books had a m...more
This is an autobiography of Brigham Young's plural wife Ann Eliza Webb, who left Utah and devoted the rest of her life to educating the public about the misery of living polygamy.
Her 19th century story of escaping polygamy parallels the autobiographies of the women who escape the FLDS today.
Interestingly, Ann's writings will be found in church publications as a witness to certain events. Apparently LDS historians find her to be a reliable source for those events that support the church's positio...more
Her 19th century story of escaping polygamy parallels the autobiographies of the women who escape the FLDS today.
Interestingly, Ann's writings will be found in church publications as a witness to certain events. Apparently LDS historians find her to be a reliable source for those events that support the church's positio...more
After reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, I had to read this book. Ebershoff's book is a novel which parallels the stories of a modern-day fictional 19th wife of a polygamist and the historical 19th wife of Brigham Young, who divorced him and became an ardent foe of polygamy. She wrote a memoir in 1875 titled The 19th Wife. You can buy it, or download it in pdf form from Ebershoff's website (that is what I did). The downside to that is that you have to read it on the computer, and it's 600...more
This is not a "faithful history" of Mormonism, in fact, the old cliche of "Hell hath no fury . . ." came to mind repeatedly as I read this memoir. An embittered tale of settling in early Utah under the Polygamous system for which Mormons are famous. It is clear the 19th wife (and later divorced) of Brigham Young has some harsh feelings and an agenda. While I don't doubt her sincerity in retelling some of her experiences, a quick internet search will reveal that some of the events and situations...more
I just finished reading this book tonight. It was a free downloadable from http://www.mazeministry.com/mormonism....
I actually became interested in this when I saw the made for TV movie the 19th wife and wanted to read the truth behind the idea of the movie. This book is even mentioned in the movie.
I found it interesting. I have often wondered what the mindset of the women were in polygamous relationships.I discovered that they were raised with these values in the same way baptists are raised to...more
I actually became interested in this when I saw the made for TV movie the 19th wife and wanted to read the truth behind the idea of the movie. This book is even mentioned in the movie.
I found it interesting. I have often wondered what the mindset of the women were in polygamous relationships.I discovered that they were raised with these values in the same way baptists are raised to...more
I love primary sources! With Ann Eliza, you get a peak into the Mormon faith during its early development. I liked how she "backtracked" and introduced us to her parents background and how they came into the faith, as they were actively involved during Mormonism in Joseph Smith's time period. I felt like I was reading a story from a periodical magazine, as the book would shift from experience to experience. She describes past Mormon leaders as driven by greed, none the more than Brigham Young hi...more
I used this book for my NHD project and found it very helpful. This book is by Ann Eliza Young who was Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church's, 19th wife. She writes about how her mother and father got into Mormonism, and how her mom was religiously persecuted for joining the new religion. She also writes about being born into Mormonism, and she writes about her life in polygamy leading to her leaving the Mormon church.
I would recomend this book to people interested in reading ab...more
I would recomend this book to people interested in reading ab...more
I decided to read this after beginning The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. I was bothered that he chose to use his own words to tell Ann Eliza's story, and I wanted to see how it compared to her own narrative. He has a PDF of Wife No. 19 available for download on his site, so I decided to read it online. After reading it for myself, I understand why he chose to "re-write" her memoirs. Her account is long, quite wordy, often redundant, and extremely biased. I don't think she ever mentions Brigham Y...more
Wow, was this ever a long book. A loooooong book. I had to get through 500 pages before she even mentioned her marriage to Brigham Young. It was hard to separate fact from fiction and the author put as much importance on Brigham's supposed involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre as on his criticism of women's fashion (he disagreed with long trains in the Utah wilderness, go figure). I'm sure that Ann Eliza did not enjoy her life and that the emotions she expressed were genuine, however I wo...more
The story is fascinating and quite horrifying. It is very much in the writing style of the period and that may not suit some modern readers. However to doubt the veracity of the story due to verbosity of the author's style is to do the book an injustice. This woman lived through hell and to write her story off as "a woman scorned" is a grave injustice for both her and the other unfortunates she writes of. The historical facts can be verified. That the massacres and "Indian" attacks happened is a...more
This was a fascinating story written in 1875 by a wife of Brigham Young. She was technically the 19th wife but in reality she was probably more like the 52nd. It is written from a Christian perspective. She came out of the darkness of Mormonism and embraced the true gospel. Feminists try to claim her but in reality she was a woman who had been set free from not only polygamist bondage but bondage to a false religion that kept her mind captive. She wanted to tell her story to the world and see ot...more
I would NOT suggest this book to anyone who wouldn't want to hear negative opinions on the history of the LDS church. This book is an autobiography of Ann Eliza Young who was one of Brigham Young's many wives. She escaped polygamy and toured the United States championing the cause to end the practice. This book is her historical account of the LDS church. There is a lot of truth here that matched other historical books. But this one is full of her opinions and biases. I can't blame her for her f...more
Dated, but still interesting. Ann Eliza Young divorced Brigham Young, helped give a "face" to polygamy, and toured the country speaking about her life as a polygamous Mormon, then wrote this book due to the enthusiastic response she received at her national speaking engagements.
It is written in the typical verbose, overblown language of the late 19th-century, but her basic story is interesting enough; however, those who do not find early Mormonism of any interest will not find enough here to ke...more
It is written in the typical verbose, overblown language of the late 19th-century, but her basic story is interesting enough; however, those who do not find early Mormonism of any interest will not find enough here to ke...more
Really interesting.
Ever talked to a person who is very bitter against the religion they grew up in? Ever listen to rants about hypocrisy, corruption, and plain evil found in the church their parents desperately want them to be a part of?
Yeah Ann Eliza was defiantly pissed off at the Mormon church in her day.
There is a lot of hyperbole here, she spares no insult or comparison when describing the evils of her husband and his influence over the church. Everything from calling him a devil, murder...more
Ever talked to a person who is very bitter against the religion they grew up in? Ever listen to rants about hypocrisy, corruption, and plain evil found in the church their parents desperately want them to be a part of?
Yeah Ann Eliza was defiantly pissed off at the Mormon church in her day.
There is a lot of hyperbole here, she spares no insult or comparison when describing the evils of her husband and his influence over the church. Everything from calling him a devil, murder...more
This book was characteristic of anti-polygamy memoirs at the time of its publication. Similar efforts were cited as the primary reason for the rise of organized public opposition to Mormon polygamy in the mid-1800's.
Even by contemporary standards, the writing is stilted and dull. An aggressive editor could easily cut out 95% of the text, and still retain everything of real interest to a modern reader.
For the most part, this book is an impassioned series of first, second, and thirdhand stories ab...more
Even by contemporary standards, the writing is stilted and dull. An aggressive editor could easily cut out 95% of the text, and still retain everything of real interest to a modern reader.
For the most part, this book is an impassioned series of first, second, and thirdhand stories ab...more
Enjoyed this story with all the biographical information including all the documented footnotes. A huge research project that was documented and categorized into a beautiful story that helped you imagine what it was like in the early years of JSLS in America.
I found the book to be insightful and fascinating. I had read many bound copies of Harper's from this time period containing articles about Mormonism. However, this 19th century memoir is the most revealing that I have read about Mormonism from that time period.
Jul 12, 2012
Kristin
is currently reading it
I heard this was good. So far, I have learned a lot about early Mormonism that I did not know before. Since so many of our friends are Mormon, I find it interesting.
This was very hard to It was full of errors and sometimes I had to guess at some words but I managed and learned a great deal on the subject of Mormons.
Oct 09, 2012
Becky Bogoslavsky
added it
Longer than I expected, but great historical view of the Mormon church (although obvious this woman hated her husband!)
This was extremely informative. Parts of it seemed to be hearsay, but much of it was excellent reading.
A very telling book about the cruel and inhuman system of Mormon polygamy.
Absolutely fascinating historical account of the birth of the Mormon church.
Fascinating and disturbing all at the same time.
Nov 04, 2010
Erika Perakos
is currently reading it
I am loving this book!
Good book. Toward the end, the book seems to run on with all the history and details and seemed a bit boring, but I enjoyed this book.
Fair warning - I converted this ebook - but I only do that for books I love!
For anyone with only a passing knowledge of early Mormonism, or indeed life in 19th century America, this is an eye-opening read. Every chapter seems to add a new sign of classic cult behavior, and by the end you're fairly screaming at the author to get out before it's too late - which, thankfully, she then does, and goes on to become a notable champion of women's rights. Look on Wikipedia for more details!
For anyone with only a passing knowledge of early Mormonism, or indeed life in 19th century America, this is an eye-opening read. Every chapter seems to add a new sign of classic cult behavior, and by the end you're fairly screaming at the author to get out before it's too late - which, thankfully, she then does, and goes on to become a notable champion of women's rights. Look on Wikipedia for more details!
A very fascinating and insightful account of one woman's experience growing up in Mormon polygamy in the 19th century. Very well written. A compelling memoir. A must read for anyone with an interest in American history and/or religion.
this book is like an expose' of the early practicioners of the mormon faith. this book really freaked me out because it's written in a sort of "weekly world news" or "star magazine" style - you know, those papers that have elvis sightings and two-headed mummies etc. but i also think there must be some grains of truth to the story...i cant even imagine it all being true. anyway - i really enjoyed the book... and i have mormon friends!
Eye opening, to say the least!
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Ann Eliza Young (September 13, 1844–1925) also known as Ann Eliza Webb Dee Young Denning was one of Brigham Young's fifty-five wives and later a critic of polygamy. She spoke out against the suppression of women and was an advocate for women's rights during the 19th century.
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Mar 06, 2013 06:16pm