The 19th Wife: polygamy

Has reading The 19th Wife changed your understanding or views of polygamy at all?

Were you suprised to see how challenging it was for Chauncey and Gilbert to practice plural marriage? How does Queenie’s husband Hiram Alton’s experience with polygamy differ? What are the factors that contribute to this difference?

How do you feel about BeckyLyn’s desire to return to a life of polygamy in Mesadale?

The 19th Wife: characters

How does your opinion of the characters change as The 19th Wife progresses? What influences that change of opinion more, the character’s own action or the assorted fictional documents like letters, papers, etc.?

The 19th Wife: escape

In The 19th Wife, Ann Eliza recounts her story of fleeing a polygamous marriage; this is contrasted with the stories of some of the Mesadale women attempting to leave their polygamous marriages and families. In what ways are these stories, separated by more than 100 years, similar? In what ways are they different?