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Red Water
In 1857, at a place called Mountain Meadows in southern Utah, a band of Mormons and Indians massacred 120 emigrants. Twenty years later, the slaughter was blamed on one man named John D. Lee, previously a member of Brigham Young’s inner circle. Red Water imagines Lee’s extraordinary frontier life through the eyes of three of his nineteen wives. Emma is a vigorous and capab...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
December 18th 2007
by Anchor
(first published 2002)
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I met the author at a booksigning here in Boise. She was presented as part of the Log Cabin Literary Society, and although I didn't know anything about the book I was fascinated by the author's personal story and had to get the book. What a remarkable and thought-provoking read. Judith Freeman, a former Mormon, writes a novel in three parts, each part a separate perspective from three of the many wives in a frontier polygamist marriage. The man they are married to features prominently in a b...more
A fascinating historical novel based on real people, Red Water is told from the perspective of three different women, who happen to be three wives of the same man: John D. Lee. Lee was eventually executed (some say he was the scapegoat) for the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah in 1857 where over 100 men, women and children were killed by a group of men disguised as Indians. These "Indians" turned out to be Mormon settlers, and the scandal and the massacre is said to lead right to the ...more
Pretty interesting! It took me back to my Mormon days, even though it showed some major differences between the church we know now, and the church in the early days. Utah Mormons smoking and drinking! Eternal Temple marriages dissolved with a Writ of Releasement anytime anybody wanted out so they could marry someone else! Early communism! Human trafficking (they bought Indian children from other Indians)! Wow... it was interesting, even though I already know that the church changes with the time...more
Historical fiction novel about a polygamist family in the Brigham Young era (1880's). Particularly the story focuses on the patriarch of the family and 3 of his 19 wives.
2 stars seems harsh, but "it was ok" is how I feel about the book. I was interested in John D Lee and his story, especially getting a view into his motivations and the motivations of his wives. The story is told from the view of the three wives in turn. Emma is the first voice of the story and I enjoyed...more
2 stars seems harsh, but "it was ok" is how I feel about the book. I was interested in John D Lee and his story, especially getting a view into his motivations and the motivations of his wives. The story is told from the view of the three wives in turn. Emma is the first voice of the story and I enjoyed...more
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This was an interesting tale based on real people and events after the Mountain Meadow Massacre. The story is narrated in three different parts by wives of John D. Lee, the purported leader of the Massacre. You get to see, fictionally, how the events of that day affect their lives as a polygamist family helping to settle that area of Southern Utah.
I found it interesting how the author changed voices as she switched narrators in the story. I especially enjoyed the section "written"...more
I found it interesting how the author changed voices as she switched narrators in the story. I especially enjoyed the section "written"...more
I am not loving this book. Hoping it redeems itself, but I doubt it. Too long and boring in parts...too wildly imaginative in others.
The author is telling the story of the lives of the multiple wives of John D. Lee. Lee was blamed for the Mountain Meadows massacre, where in 120 emigrants who were headed to California were rounded up by Latter-Day Saint men, and killed.
This story tells of the man who took the fall for the event, and the women who loved him. There were a lot of t...more
The author is telling the story of the lives of the multiple wives of John D. Lee. Lee was blamed for the Mountain Meadows massacre, where in 120 emigrants who were headed to California were rounded up by Latter-Day Saint men, and killed.
This story tells of the man who took the fall for the event, and the women who loved him. There were a lot of t...more
While the writing is good (unlike many modern styles that distract from the story they are attempting to tell), I found that my interest in a historical novel about real people is limited. I often felt myself wondering how much of it was accurate and how much invented. I think I would prefer to read biographies of real people and novels about fictional people.
But, I presume the major facts are true, such as ages, births, deaths (& causes), major historical events, etc, and it is int...more
But, I presume the major facts are true, such as ages, births, deaths (& causes), major historical events, etc, and it is int...more
Rachel
marked it as to-read
From Publishers Weekly
In 1857, in a field in southern Utah, a party of Mormons and Native Americans slaughtered more than a hundred men, women and children who were traveling to California. Only one man was ever tried, and executed, for the horror that became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre John D. Lee. This well-told novel by Freeman (The Chinchilla Farm) presents Lee's story from the point of view of three of his 19 wives: Emma, his "English bride," who recognizes that t...more
In 1857, in a field in southern Utah, a party of Mormons and Native Americans slaughtered more than a hundred men, women and children who were traveling to California. Only one man was ever tried, and executed, for the horror that became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre John D. Lee. This well-told novel by Freeman (The Chinchilla Farm) presents Lee's story from the point of view of three of his 19 wives: Emma, his "English bride," who recognizes that t...more
This is a really good historical novel about the early Mormons, a very realistic view of the religion, the particular concerns of being a plural wife and the persecution of and crimes committed by Mormons, including the slaughter of families on the Oregon Trail, Mormons disguising themselves as Indians. Older girls and boys under a certain age were left alive and taken into the life, one small child recognizing her mother's dress on her "new" mother.
I am a fan of historical fiction and it captured my interest because I was curious to learn about the early Mormon settlers and their poligamous households.
A Mormon leader acquires many wives from a variety of backgrounds and ages. The story is set in the early beginning of Mormonism in dry dusty Utah and surrounding territories. And the tale is woven together from accounts from the wives and the husband.
I thought it was a good story.
A Mormon leader acquires many wives from a variety of backgrounds and ages. The story is set in the early beginning of Mormonism in dry dusty Utah and surrounding territories. And the tale is woven together from accounts from the wives and the husband.
I thought it was a good story.
I read this when I was pregnant with my third child and it helped me realize that, even though I was about to have 3 kids under 4, my life as an early 21st Century middle-class urban American woman is pretty easy. These women were amazing. And once their husband was no longer in the picture, on their own!! Good historical fiction about a time and a place that there are few stories written about...so far.
This is the story of several wives in a polygamous, Mormon family during the second half of the 19th century. Their struggle to survive in frontier Utah is highlighted by relations to the Indian population, the rivalries of the wives and the harsh land. It is novel but many of the characters and incidents portrayed are based on historical events and historical people.
This was a great read on many different levels. The characters were real and their stories well-written. If I have any criticism, it is of the diary format of Rachel's story, which interrupted the smooth flow of the novel. I learned a lot about the basis of the Mormon religion, not really realizing before that in its beginnings it was a cult of the worse kind.
Yancey
added it
This is historical fiction, which is not usually my thing. But I enjoyed it. It's divided ino 3 parts, each narrated by a different wife of a Mormon who took part in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The first section is by far the strongest, and the third is the weakest, so I was ready for it to be over. But an interesting read on the topic of polygamy.
The book starts off strong as it is narrated by Emma, the most interesting of the wives. Then it begins its downfall. Ann and Rachel's sections are no longer told in first person and the difference is obvious. I became less engrossed as the points of view changed. I learned a lot about the "Saints" and life in the wilderness.
Really good. Split into three (four, really, but) very distinct sections, each even structurally different (first-person, third-person, diary) but held together by a single historical event (the Mountain Meadows masacre). Each is told from the perspective of one of Lee's wives. The first (second, really, but) section is the longest, but the next, Ann's, was my favorite. Could definitely work on its own as a little novella, really well-paced and efficient. I don't usually read historical fiction....more
I found this novel interesting in the beginning under the narrative of the first wife presented, but I was bored by time the narrative switched over to the next wife's perspective. The story seemed to change completely and I felt like I was almost reading a different book; one that I never got too interested in.
I enjoyed this book despite, or maybe because it was a little outside my normal book choice. I found the depiction of frontier and Mormon life held my interest and was quick reading. Would have like the section by Emma to be a bit smaller and the sections by Ann and Rachel to be a bit larger perhaps.
Judith Freeman lives part in Idaho (my hometown) and part in LA. This book is about a multiple mormon marriage in the 1900's (late 1800's?) from the perspective of three different wives. It's an interesting and well written book. One that I really enjoyed.
Sparked my interest in this part of Mormon history, not just the massacre but John D. Lee and the wives as well as those pioneers of my own family. John D.'s sexuality may be too much for some but made him more human and charismatic.
Quick run down:
this book takes place in the 19th century. it is about a Mormon family. the husband gets executed. this story is told from the viewpoint of the 3 wives he loved the most.
I had to force myself through the book.
this book takes place in the 19th century. it is about a Mormon family. the husband gets executed. this story is told from the viewpoint of the 3 wives he loved the most.
I had to force myself through the book.
This book is split up into 3 parts told by 3 different people. I would give the first 2 parts 4 stars and the last part 3 stars or maybe even 2.5 it was just didn't seem like she didn't have much to say so she just rambled.
Well written story about southern Utah and the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Good characters (including John D. Lee) who are well-rounded and not stereotypes. I loved the local flavor of knowing all those places. Not unlike Giant Joshua Tree.
This story is told from the viewpoint of three wives of a Mormon prophet. I was intrigued by the differences in interpretation of the various women of their similar situations. A good counter-point to Big Love
I enjoyed the story of the first wife but would have been okay with the book stopping there. The sections about the other 2 wives just seemed to drag on...and they were the shorter sections.
Historical fiction that is a thought-provoking take on polygamy, menage-a-trois, Injuns, from the point of view of 3 wives. Good but tainted by the random modern sensibility that pops up.
Picked this up at Costco and really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about polygamy and am glad to be a woman in the 21st century not the 19th. Women had such few choices back then. I am quite sure plural marriage would not work now, even if it was legal.
Very enjoyable historical fiction - about some of the wives of John D. Lee. I recommend reading some history about him and the Mountain Meadows Massacre before reading this book.
I read this years ago, but I often think about the themes in this book.
Also,it made me appreciate the history of Lees Ferry when I saw it for the first time.
Also,it made me appreciate the history of Lees Ferry when I saw it for the first time.
Freeman is an excellent storyteller - unfortunately she plays too much with the facts here and commits character assassination on her subjects (who were living, breathing people.) If I did not know so much about this topic already (for me it is family history) I probably would have given this book five stars. I sobbed through the first chapter as she described my great-great-great grandmother accompanying her husbands body home after he was executed by firing squad. As I got further into the ...more
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