The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff

I read this book when it came out last summer, and really enjoyed it, thought it was one of the best books I read last year. It's unique in that it combines an antique memoir called Wife No. 19 by Ann Eliza Young, who was pressured into marrying the infamous polygamist Brigham Young. The new fiction novel half of this book features the main character of Jordan, a young gay male who was abandoned on the roadside by his own mother, out of her misguided "duty" to the Mormon church. This practice of abandonment is used in real life, as a way to get rid of eligible boys of dating age, so that these boys don't get in the way of the older men, who are pursuing young girls in the church to add to their harems. I don't want to spoil the book for you, but it's like a triple treat; with a fascinating nonfiction memoir, a well-written modern-day novel, and a murder mystery, all rolled up into one good read! There's a little video on the web site here. http://www.19thwife.com/