book data
85 ratings, 3.69 average rating, 20 reviews
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published
2003
by Anchor
binding
Paperback, 336 pages
isbn
0385720696
(isbn13: 9780385720694)
description
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...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 122)
Read in January, 2002
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
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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 the m...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 the m...more
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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
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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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Read in July, 2003
Just never "grabbed" me the way a good
novel should. This is a fictional account of the apparently famed Mountain
Meadow Massacre in Utah in the late 1800s. An interesting account from the
viewpoint of three of the main characters' wives, examining their lives and
times, but unsatisfying from the point of view of the central event that is
used to "sell" the book.
novel should. This is a fictional account of the apparently famed Mountain
Meadow Massacre in Utah in the late 1800s. An interesting account from the
viewpoint of three of the main characters' wives, examining their lives and
times, but unsatisfying from the point of view of the central event that is
used to "sell" the book.
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Read in February, 2007
One of my favorite books. Obsure, sparse, amazing.
A book about women, and all that this entails. I found the words to be so revealing, as if someone were giving away the secrets that we carry inside us.
All this, surrounded by an actual bloody event in history.
A book about women, and all that this entails. I found the words to be so revealing, as if someone were giving away the secrets that we carry inside us.
All this, surrounded by an actual bloody event in history.
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Read in January, 2005
recommended to Sara by:
Malloryrecommends it for: fans of historical fiction
An excellent book with fascinating insight into the Mormon faith. My only complaint is that sometimes when switching between the different wives' points of view, I had trouble keeping track of where they were in time. (Minor quibble!)
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Read in June, 2008
Fascinating fictional account from the viewpoints of three of John Lee's wives in the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and a beautifully rendered portrait of the raw beauty and cruel hardship of the West.
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Read in July, 2007
Another good piece of historical fiction. Told by 3 wives with very different perspectives of their relationship with their common husband. I enjoyed the insight into their pioneer lives and their individual motivations.
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Read in April, 2008
Well written book on the 19th century polygamist John D Lee, three of his several wives write about their lives. This is historical fiction at its best! Enjoy
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Hardly about Mountain Meadow Massacre. More about the author's irritable view of early church history and the involvement in Polygamy.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2005
Great fictional creation based on the women in the early Mormon west. Plural marriages and frontier hardships. Great storytelling.
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Read in January, 2003
Wonderful historical fiction about early Mormon pioneers; also read "The Chinchilla Farm," but preferred "Red Water.
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Read in September, 2005
Historical fiction:late 1800's, Mormon country-----------Mormon life after the Mountain Meadow massacre, told by 3 wives
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Read in January, 2008
This book was slow at first, but then really picked up. It was very entertaining for historical fiction.
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Read in July, 2003
2003: The first half was pretty interesting, even intense. The second half was painfully boring.
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Haunting tale of Mormon history. I don't know how some people live like this...
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Read in June, 2008
The Mormons continue to fascinate me.. . . . so far this book is a good read.
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I tried to read this, but never finished it. I can't remember why...
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