Mormon Odyssey
The Story of Ida Hunt Udall, Plural Wife
Here is the captivating story of Ida Hunt Udall, a plural wife of David K. Udall, an early Mormon leader in Arizona. Her story is told through her memories of her early life; her journal; her "birthday book," in which she made annual entries from 1873 to 1905; selected letters; and Maria Ellsworth's own interpretive material. Born in 1858, Ida Hunt Udall began her Mormon odyssey when she was quite young, pioneering with her family in Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. With the coming of the anti-Mormon crusade focusing on polygamists, Ida was forced to go into hiding soon after her marriage in 1882. She vividly describes her marriage, her life on the "underground" and the prison experiences of her husband as reported to her in letters she copied into her journal. Maria Ellsworth, Ida's granddaughter, weaves these materials into a compelling tale of hard work, courage, sacrifice, and devotion to a family, a religion, and a cause that defined her being and gave meaning to her life. She includes details of Ida's life based on the journals of Ida's sisters, family recollections, and historical documents. Mormon Odyssey provides a "window" on polygamy, with all its conflicts and disappointments, as well as its rewards.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest warfare and conflict, disturbing or confinement-related situations. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Dark tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-2520-1875-6
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL10227586M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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