The Twenty-Seventh Wife

[The following book review was also published in 1984 in the Southside Mirror (June 3). The book remains highly recommended—especially for those who do not have much of a concept of Mormon history.]

Irving Wallace has written several books with recognizable titles such as The Prize and The Chapman Report. Many of his writings have to do with the subject of sex, and we would not endorse them in any way. One could say that Wallace's The Twenty-Seventh Wife also discusses sex, but mostly its relationship to polygamy is at issue; and the subject is never approached in lurid fashion.

Wallace says he has tried to remain objective in writing this book; and the reader will be impressed by the difficulty of such a task since the existence of two (or more) separate versions of what happened is more frequently the rule than the exception. The author (from our acquaintance with the facts) succeeds in his attempt to be impartial. The book contains seven pages of acknowledgements and over six pages of bibliography. This surely indicates the author's intention of being factual and accurate.

The 400-page book is divided into nine chapters. The subject of the book is introduced in chapter one: “The Fugitive.” She is Ann Eliza Webb Young, and she will soon become the foremost enemy of polygamy, “a slavery which debases and degrades womanhood and the family,” as Harriet Beecher Stowe described it (14).

Wallace begins by describing Ann Eliza's dramatic decision to flee the Mormons and trust “Gentile” (non-Mormon) friends for safety, which was a great concern. Wallace explains who the Danites (alias “Destroying Angels”) were and how they got their name (27).

Chapter two, “The Prophet,” returns to Ann Eliza's birth and beyond. Wallace relates what he can about Ann Eliza's parents, but he also gives an account of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. The so-called plates, along with the Urim and Thummim (concerning which Smith made claims), are also mentioned, as well as the Spaulding manuscript.

The author outlines the Mormons' move from Kirtland, Ohio, to Far West, Missouri, to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot to death. Mormons had been run out of Missouri after considerable friction with its inhabitants. Their activities in Nauvoo soon stirred up community resentment against them there, also.

Wallace provides some insight into Smith's character: “Combining the delicate and handsome features of a matinee idol with the physique of an athlete, he wrestled, gambled, swore…drank, and whored” (35). And those were just his good points. While the fighting was going on in Missouri, Smith addressed his flock, “Do all you can to harass the enemy. I never felt more of the spirit of God at any time since we commenced this stealing and house-burning” (40).

Joseph Smith first introduced polygamy (Celestial marriage) at Nauvoo. His wife took the “revelation” and threw it in the fire. Ann Eliza's mother “was horrified” by it, but she submitted to it (53). This chapter ends with Brigham Young in control of the Mormon religion in Salt Lake City.

Chapter three, “The Five Mrs. Webbs,” not only describes Ann Eliza's home life and her parents but the subject of polygamy in general. In 1852, Brigham Young made it clear to the whole world that “the doctrine of plural marriage was an official tenet of the Mormon Church” (68). Some of the problems of plural marriages began to surface. Among them were favoritism, jealousy, a sense of worthlessness, loneliness, apathy, and a loss of love.

Later, Mrs. T.B.H. Stenhouse, a Mormon defector, would aptly write: “A man may have a dozen wives; but from the whole of them combined he will not receive as much real love and devotion as he might from one alone, if he made her feel that she had his undivided affection and confidence. How terribly these men deceive themselves!” (213).

Chapter four's title might more appropriately be called, “Brigham's Theater,” since the first twenty pages talk about it and Ann Eliza's short career there. She does, however, become, “The first Mrs. Dee,” but that turned out to be an equally short career. She claimed her husband was violent toward her and divorced him after two-and-one-half years.

Chapter five follows Ann Eliza as she becomes, “The Twenty-Seventh Mrs. Young.” The way in which that event occurred makes for interesting reading, as does the description of life among several wives. Chapter six continues to follow the main character as she becomes, “The Rebel of the Harem.” Wallace recounts what led up to the 27th Mrs. Young's decision to leave Mormonism and describes her new “Gentile” friends. The situation becomes really interesting when she slapped a divorce suit on her husband, Brigham, the leader of the Mormon Church. After her escape from Utah, she also decided to lecture against the evils of Mormonism.

“The Adulteress” is the title of chapter seven. Ann Eliza begins lecturing across the Midwest and, though she begins with great fear and feelings of uneasiness, she finds a receptive audience. Her first two lectures are: “My Life in Bondage” and “Polygamy As It Is.” Soon she makes enough money to support herself, which is a good thing, since her divorce suit, filed in 1873, will not be resolved until 1877. She lectured in Peoria in January of 1874.

Ann Eliza met with James Redpath at his Lyceum Bureau in Boston; he scheduled her lectures, and she made a good salary. Just before her first lecture in Boston, the Chicago Times printed an untrue story, alleging that she was having an affair with Major Pond, one of her Gentile “Friends.” To make matters worse, Victoria Woodhull, who traveled the country, lecturing on the virtues of “free love,” also confirmed the story (283). Eventually, an investigation uncovered that the allegation against Ann Eliza was false and without merit. The entire, slanderous concoction was the work of a Mormon lawyer, in conjunction with a $20,000 bribe (290).

In chapter eight Ann Eliza comes home to lecture in (of all places) Salt Lake City. Among the events detailed here are the outcome of her divorce, her correspondence with President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, her ten-year lecture career, and her marriage to Moses R. Denning. The final chapter briefly sketches her remaining years and the ultimate fate of polygamy. The author records: “In 1959 a high official of the Mormon Church admitted to this writer that there were 2,000 polygamists in Salt Lake City” (382).

Wallace unfolds the story of Ann Eliza Young against its historical background. Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, Thomas Nast, Susan B. Anthony, Jenny Lind, P.T. Barnum, Josh Billings, and Artemus Ward are only a few of the notable people mentioned throughout the book. It reads like a novel and is hard to put down, yet it contains outstanding insights into both Mormonism and polygamy. [It may be ordered from the Internet.]