Saint Abe and His Seven Wives: A Tale of Salt Lake City, with a Bibliographical Note

Salt Lake City, 1872. A sharp, sensational novel that pulls back the curtain on Mormon polygamy with melodramatic flair and pointed satire. Abe Clewson, the eponymous 'saint,' juggles seven wives while navigating the treacherous waters of religious devotion and domestic chaos. Into this world stumbles Joe Wilson, a rough-hewn frontiersman whose romantic misadventures with the widow Cissy collide with the ambitions of the formidable Apostle Hiram Higginson, who also fancies himself a suitor. The narrative crackles with rivalry, temptation, and the absurd contradictions of a faith that promises salvation while breeding jealousy. Buchanan writes with the breathless urgency of Victorian melodrama, skewering the religious community as both exotic spectacle and genuine human tragedy. For readers curious about how Victorians imagined America's most controversial institution, this is a fascinating period artifact that rewards with humor, pathos, and historical intrigue.