Customer Reviews

Wife, No. 19

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Autobiographies of polygamist women who leave the faith in the 19th century are hard to find and I treasure this one. The book is written by Ann Eliza Webb, wife of Brigham Young, who leaves the faith and exposes the world of Mormon polygamy. Many women were victims to the abusive "highest principle" of the Mormon faith.

I have trouble reading some of the negative reviews from people calling this victim "disgruntled" or expecting too much from her marriage. Here is a woman who was born & raised into a polygamous family and indoctrinated into a religion that teaches she will be damned to hell if she leaves the church, and makes unimaginable sacrifices in living her religion. She was brave enough to escape and apostatize from the faith, losing her eternal salvation and even risking her life.

It's interesting that a victim of religious coerced polygamy has her story labeled as fiction and lies by some reviewers. Would these same Mormons judge the current FLDS polygamist women who escape and tell their stories as liars and disgruntled?

What I found fascinating was her steadfast faith in God, despite the indoctrination she was forced to deprogram herself from. She spent the rest of her life educating the public about the abuse of living in the culture of 19th century Mormon polygamy.


This is not a book for exact historical dates or statements (she is not a historian) but an excellent book for what polygamy was really like for the women behind closed doors. The messages they gave in public forums were for the church and encouraged by the leaders. Having a first hand account of living "the principle" in 19th century Mormonism makes this book very unique.

I highly recommend the books "Mormon Polygamy" by Richard Van Wagoner or "In Sacred Loneliness" by Todd Compton for further information on Mormon Polygamy.

Ann Eliza Young was a 19th century LDS woman who was born into the second generation of Mormon polygamy. One of the most heart-wrenching parts of the book recounts how her mother heartbrokenly went from being her father's only wife for years before polygamy was introduced, to being only one of his wives, after church leaders pushed polygamy on their congregation.

Mrs. Young (she was married to Brigham Young himself) finally decided to escape and speak out against the polygamist lifestyle she and so many other women in her community found devastating. Although the book was written well over a century ago, it exposes many of the same problems as contemporary polygamy memoirs (such as Escape, Shattered Dreams and His Favorite Wife, all of which I recommend). These are:

1. The lower status of women in polygamist society;

2. Men (even wealthy men) who do not provide financially for their huge plural families;

3. Lack of education, and children pressured to quit school early and work to support and care for their father's plural families;

4. Pressure on women to marry against their will;

5. Physically and/or emotionally abusive behavior of husbands whose religion and community give them total power over their wives;

6. Husbands who dote on favorite wives while neglecting the others;

7. Unhappy households that feature intense jealousy and competition among plural wives;

8. Most of all, the profound and lasting pain felt by good, loving women whose religion and community compel them to share their husbands (they are told there is no way to heaven except through polygamy).

This is an excellent primary source about early Mormonism in general (it contains a first-generation family narrative that describes the church's history) and polygamy in particular. Highly recommended to anyone interested in either subject.

Having grown up in Utah I have always had a romantically clowded historical view of the Mormons, (as conveyed by the Mormons of course). My eyes were wide throughout this book as I turned page to page I have read other accounts of Mormon history with none being as honest as this. And to think this "land of Zion" was built upon such evil and hypocricy If you have ever lived and learned in the state of Utah, I strongly reccommend this book. I personally will never look at the LDS Church the same again, and I don't think you will either.

If I ever had any warm and fuzzy feelings about the Mormon Church and especially its founders and early disciples, this very credible eyewitness account sent those feelings into the dustbin of history.

Though the writing is not perfect by today's standards, Ann Eliza Young's personal story is very believable (I believe it is authentic) and yet incomprehensible (I am astounded that so many people put up with the religion she describes) at the same time.

This is the quite detailed personal memoir of a girl who grew up in a Mormon family and became the 19th polygamous wife of Brigham Young. She finally became so disillusioned that she took the very dangerous and rare step of leaving him and divorcing him. Even more astounding for her day and age, she went on the lecture tour and exposed the Mormons and polygamy for what it was (from her point of view at least).

Anybody looking for details of the sex lives of polygamous spouses will be disappointed, as there is no information on that matter whatsoever. (At the very end of the book she hints that there were gross injustices and humiliations of a personal and private nature that she would not reveal.)

I enjoyed reading the book though I was appalled at the story it told. Any student of the history of the Latter-day Saints should read this book. I bet it isn't to be found in the bookstore of Brigham Young University.

This is an amazing book about the founders of a new faith in a new world. It's no wonder that the Mormon church tried to destroy these. My mother found a first edition copy of this book at an estate sale, and so we bought it here because we were afraid to read the old one (it might fall apart). It's a well told story by a brave woman who speaks with clarity and force about the beginnings of the Mormon church in Utah.

Mormons will not like this book. Non-mormons with open minds probably will.

The book is a haunting vision of how Brigham Young treated wife No.19. I cannot believe that to this day no one knows what happened to her or where she died. Ann Eliza has a honest and forthwith way of explaining her view of what happened to her. Anyone that has ever wondered how one of Brigham Young's wives lived and was treated, this book is for you.

I have the original 1875 book. Ann-Eliza Young's writing style is wonderful. I did not want to put the book down.

She brings you right into the story/history of the Mormons and of her family.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

This is a non-fictional book on 19th century polygamy in Utah.
I think everyone interested in Mormon polygamy should read this book, because the author made an effort to defend her position despite everybody's opposition, including her beloved mum's.
This book is really touching and it broke my heart to see how sad her childhood in a polygamous family was.
When I read that Heber Kimnball, one of the 12 LDS apostles at that time, compared taking a wife with buying a cow, I thought the author went too far; surprisingly, Kimball's version in Mormon literature (Journal of Discourses vol. 4 page 209 and vol.5 page 22) claims exactly the same, so we can trust that Ann Eliza's book is reliable.
It is interesting to know that Mormon and anti-Mormon literature, which often present different accounts on the same matter, agree about polygamy and the condition of women.
According to Mormon sources (Journal of Discourses vol. 17 page 159) women, who don't have men's same privileges in this life or in the next, had to submit cheerfully to their husbands' desires to take additional wives, otherwise they would be destroyed.
In view of this, I strongly believe that this book is perfectly matched with Mormon beliefs and can help not only to reflect about how it is to live a life in bondage, but also to understand the current Mormon mindset.

This book is one of the most interesting accounts of early Mormon life I have come across. Not only is the author a gifted storyteller, she witnessed the incredible events related to the establishment of the Utah Mormon stronghold. Most Mormon witnesses are reverential, sanctimonious, and overly respectful. This author paints a picture of the various "Saints" as human, flawed, and totally believable. Her portrayal of her husband, Brigham Young was fascinating--revealing his strategies for holding onto power and controlling his subjects and giving an unvarnished view of his personality and character. The story of the emmigrant hand-cart train from England to Utah was heart wrenching. Meagerly equipped with poorly built handcarts, the weak emmigrants were sent West in an ill-fated attempt that resulted in the deaths of 5/6ths of the pitiful pilgrims. The machinations of Brigham Young and his apostles were clearly exposed in a compelling and honest fashion. This book should be read by every student of Western U.S. History, early Mormon history, and students of religious movements. It has clear parallels to some of our current religious and political movements--the Koresh types and the survivialists. Absolutely outstanding!

Gives a sense of life as a mormon in the 1800's. I am about half way thru this long book. It's interesting enough to get one past the slow read aspect/ repetitious points without further specific evidence. The illustrations are of very poor quality.