The Twenty-Seventh Wife

by Irving Wallace

Brigham married one woman too many wwhen he took Ann Eliza Webb as his twenty-seventh wife. He was the leader of the polygamous Mormon faith, as powerful in the Utah Territorry as the President of the United States. She was a great beauty with a quiet manner--and an iron will.

For four years, Eliza lived in Brigham Young's harem as his twenty-seventh wife. Then, one summer morning, she walked out, deserting her husband and suing him for a divorce.

The saga of Ann Young's brave fight for liberation is not only a landmark in the history of women's rights, but also a thrilling story.

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Mormonism, Historical Fiction

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Irving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter. His extensively researched books included such page-turners as The Chapman Report (1960), about human sexuality; The Prize (1962), a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; The Man, about a black man becoming president of the U.S. in the 1960s; and The Word (1972), about the discovery of a new gospel.

Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.

Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).

After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.

Reviews

[Dorothy Yoder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a narrative about Brigham Young's twenty-seventh wife, Ann Eliza Webb, much history about the Mormon church, its dominance in the Utah Territory, political ties/influence in Washington, and whether the government could/should dictate how a religious group chose to interpret the Bible, particularly in regard to polygamy. All of this makes for interesting reading in an academic way…. not an easy read. Wallace is a master writer and his research and writing is to be commended. What disappoint me was I did not find Ann Eliza an interesting person and could not decide if I liked her or not or trusted her or not. To every one of her claims there were credible counter claims that frustrated me for there is/was no conclusion as to the truth. If Ann Eliza would have been the twenty-seventh wife of any other Mormon, no one would have cared about her story. The book sheds conflicting opinions about the character of Young as well leaving the reader clueless as to whether he was a Saint of a foolish manipulator. After slogging through the tedious reading, I gleaned no certainties about Young or Webb. I wanted to see them as real people struggling with a heavy issue but could not get a feel for the personality of either.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Irving Wallace since I was in high school, more than fifty years ago. In the last year or so, I’ve been re-reading his best-selling novels. But when I was re-shelving books after a move, I came across The Twenty-Seventh Wife, the true story of Anne Eliza Young, who not only married renowned Mormon president Brigham Young—after he had already taken twenty-six wives (or maybe more)—but she, after deciding the marriage and the idea of polygamy were wrong, was counselled to divorce the man. This is the story of how she came to be his wife, how she made the decision to flee the marriage, and the aftermath. The big quandary was “how can you divorce if your marriage is not legal?” Wallace spends the better part of over three hundred pages stringing us along on that question. Although this book doesn’t have the easy story-telling flow of Wallace’s novels, it has a compelling plot and a “turn the page” feel to it. This is a tale most of us do not know, not just the story of Anne Eliza, but that of Mormonism in the late nineteenth century. For those of us who wonder how the idea of polygamy became mainstream in the early church, this book answers that question. For here, we have not only the story of one woman, but we have the history of the church and the times. Wallace did quite a bit of research, and he says in the acknowledgments he made it his goal to not judge. And thus we read accounts often from opposing viewpoints with Wallace weighing in, from his research, on where the truth lies. The Twenty-Seventh Wife is a fascinating account, fit for history buffs, seekers, and those who just want to experience an unusual story.

[Patti Overholt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that the Mormons would not want you to read.

[Pushpendra Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tedious and excessively academic treatment of an otherwise interesting topic of legalised polygamy in USA.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-fiction book, published in 1961, it is the biography of Ann Eliza Young, the 27th wife of Brigham Young. The book is very well research, including a lot of information from Ann Eliza’s diaries and books. The author is very impartial, as when he quotes newspaper articles, he quotes both the pro-Mormon and anti-Mormon points-of-view. Ann Eliza divorced Brigham Young in the 1870s, and was vocally anti-polygamy. She went on a ten-year speaking tour across the United States talking about her experiences and against plural marriage. The book is largely about polygamy itself—from the origins with Joseph Smith through and after the many wives of Brigham Young. Historically, it also contains interesting information about the Mormon beliefs and behavior during that time period.

[Sreedhar Pothukuchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely difficult book to read. One of the rare biographies written by best-selling authors of that time, like Irving Wallace.
The trials and tribulations of Mormons and the fight of a deserted woman, against the Mormon establishment, presented in not-so-boring prose.
It is a challenge to complete the book of 400 pages, printed in small font of 500 words per page about such a drab subject.
Be that as it may, it is a recounting of history. Even if one doesn't care about what happened 2-300 years ago, one gets a good perspective of how less-boring history lessons at school can be, if written this way, by good story tellers like Wallace.

[Jerilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brigham Young's beautiful wife divorced him, wrote a book, and went on the road to expose the evils of polygamy in the late 1800s, helping to bring about the outlawing of polygamy which led to Utah being granted statehood in 1896.

[Vijay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The courageous wife

Interesting book for anyone keen to know about Mormonism that was prevalent, in one of the states, in the US, in the 19th century. Well researched book, as always, by Irving Wallace.

[Sanjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched book.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read in that it gives historical context around things that were happening around Brigham and Ann Eliza. I appreciated that aspect as I’ve read Wife No 19 so knew her side of the story.

[Julian Peñaranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente crónica de la esposa más célebre del tal Brigham, segundo patriarca del mormonismo. Pobre Ann Eliza

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this somewhat sensational biography of Ann Eliza Webb, who was a plural wife of Brigham Young. She divorced him and went on the just burgeoning lecture circuit to "expose" the evils of polygamy and Mormonism and Brigham Young. My main concern is that the author wrote this in 1961, when there wasn't a great deal of accurate information available for research. I wasn't too concerned about the whole affair--there's Brigham's side and Eliza's side and the truth is somewhere in the middle. Very interesting reading, though.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in my mother's book case and thought it would be very interesting to read. It was but, it is definitely, a negative, one-side view of Brigham Young and the LDS church. The more I read about the early church and polygamy, the more I am dumb-founded and don't understand how anyone thought it could work.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I ever read about Mormonism when I was in 8th grade.
It was good because it lead me to read Brigham Young's Journal of Discourses. Always important to read all sides of the issue. Did not read the B of M until several years after.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

March 2003 (back to)
February 2009

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the 27th wife of Brigham Young.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in high school in Utah. It was very enlightening.

[Lisa]

Recommended by Jason's Mom. Another insightful look into the LDS Church.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but one sided

[Carol Collins]

read