Children of God

Fülszöveg

^J^HIS tremendous növel, an epic story of the Mormons, consti' tutes for Mr. Fisher a completely new departure in fiction. Abándon' ing purely personaland psychological problems, he deals here with the history of a whole sect. Part I describes the origin of the Mormon creed in the strange dreams and prophecies of Joseph Smith. The first curious collection of followers give rise to scandals in Ohio, somé of the women claiming that their children had been fathered by the Holy Ghost. Joseph and others are tarred and feathered by the infuriated populace, but Joseph, steadfastly a man of peace, will permit no retaliation. With somé of his saints he moves on to Missouri. There, despite the efforts of Brigham Young to avert it, more trouble occurs. As the result of another revelation Joseph takes twenty wives. He is imprisoned, brutally treated and finally murdered. [continucd on back
continued from front flap] In Part II Brigham Young leads the sect-numbering nearly 5,000-west. Mr.... Tovább

Fülszöveg

^J^HIS tremendous növel, an epic story of the Mormons, consti' tutes for Mr. Fisher a completely new departure in fiction. Abándon' ing purely personaland psychological problems, he deals here with the history of a whole sect. Part I describes the origin of the Mormon creed in the strange dreams and prophecies of Joseph Smith. The first curious collection of followers give rise to scandals in Ohio, somé of the women claiming that their children had been fathered by the Holy Ghost. Joseph and others are tarred and feathered by the infuriated populace, but Joseph, steadfastly a man of peace, will permit no retaliation. With somé of his saints he moves on to Missouri. There, despite the efforts of Brigham Young to avert it, more trouble occurs. As the result of another revelation Joseph takes twenty wives. He is imprisoned, brutally treated and finally murdered. [continucd on back
continued from front flap] In Part II Brigham Young leads the sect-numbering nearly 5,000-west. Mr. Fisher's account of the trek-the illnesses, the plagues, the Indians, the grumblings, the difficulties of commissariat-is one of tbe most remarkable tours de force in modern fiction. A site by the Salt Laké in Utah is chosen for the settlement. After the war with Mexico, Utah is ceded to the United States, and the Federal Govern' ment attempts to stop plural marriage among the Mormons. But the women prefer it and will not live in the special house provided for them. At sixty-one Brigham falls in love for the first time in his life ; and in 1877, after thirty^three years of strenuous leadership, he dies. Part III describes the Mormons' losing fight with the Government, culminating in 1890, when the last adherents of plural marriage move to Mexico, the survivors in Utah having capitulated on the score of plural marriage. A synopsis of the story gives no idea of the superb sweep of the narrative, nor of the appeal to the imagination which the Mormons1 splendid attempt at organic. coloniz,ation-acknowledged one of the finest in history-provides. With Children of God Mr. Fisher has indubitably fulfilled the promise of his first book. Vissza