Red Water: A Novel
A member of Brigham Young's inner circle, the charismatic John D. Lee holds a high position in the Mormon church until he is held accountable for the Mountain Meadows Massacre in which 120 settlers are slaughtered by a group of Mormons and their Indian allies, in a dramatic novel about the early days of Mormonism. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.
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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 was blamed on one man named John D. Lee, previously a member of Brigham Young’s inner circle. Red Water imagines Lee’s extraordinary frontier life through the eyes of three of his nineteen wives. Emma is a vigorous and capable Englishwoman who loves her husband unconditionally. Ann, a bride at thirteen years old, is an independent adventurer. Rachel is exceedingly devout and married Lee to be with her sister, his first wife. These spirited women describe their struggle to survive Utah’s punishing landscape and the poisonous rivalries within their polygamous family, led by a magnetic, industrious, and considerate husband, who was also unafraid of using his faith to justify desire and ambition.
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