This week, David Ebershoff is participating in an author chat on LibraryThing about his just-released novel, The 19th Wife, which I was fortunate enough to read through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program a few  months ago. Ebershoff will also be at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 10, 2008.

My question to Mr. Ebershoff was:

The research required for The 19th Wife seems like it would be epic in scale. Did you run into some of the same roadblocks with respect to document access as your characters did? Were church leaders helpful with your research? Was it difficult to balance objective research with some of the necessarily more subjective directions of the story?

His answer:

It’s true, the book required a lot of research, but I have to admit that when I started working on the book I had no idea how much I would need to learn. If I had known, I probably would have been scared off the subject and never written the novel. In fact, there were a few times along the way when I thought to myself, I will never master all of this and there are so many people who have spent their lives studying this subject, how will I ever catch up with them. Then at some point, as I got more and more comfortable with the background material — early Church history, LDS theology, Brigham’s life — I stepped back and reminded myself that I was writing a novel. My job is to create credible characters who are indiosynchratic and unique, and who may or may not know everything about LDS history and polygamy in the United States. Most important, the reader needs to believe these characters are alive, even if their understanding of certain subjects is limited. For example, Jordan knows very little about the history of polygamy. And he’s not especially interested. And Ann Eliza, well, she knows quite a bit from her personal experiences, but those very experiences also limit her understanding. Once I began looking at the background material through the eyes of my characters I felt more comfortable about all of the research and more certain of what I needed to know.

On the subject of access, I found many archives and institutions open to general research. The LDS Church has done a fantastic job preserving its history, and in many ways that history is open to public. For example, take a trip to Nauvoo and you’ll be inundated with rich material about early LDS history that is free and open to the public. I spent several days there, visiting every historic site, and researching in the Family History Center, where I found a brief autobiography by Ann Eliza’s father, Chauncey Webb. This short document inspired the autobiography that I wrote in the THE 19TH WIFE. (I should add, there is also a lot of information available on the internet, which of course is not news.)

Just as important, I met many people who helped me do my work — pointing me to information, sharing information, introducting me to other people who might help. It’s true, there are LDS archives that are closed to non-members. What exactly is in those archives I cannot tell you. But I felt I had enough information to write the story in the way I wanted — that is, with the multiple narrators and points of view.

Recently at a reading in California, a woman asked me about Kelly Dee (the graduate student from BYU who plays a role in bringing all these “documents” together) and her ability to gain access to closed LDS archives. This woman doubted whether a young scholar like Kelly would be able to persuade the Church to open up its archives as she does in the book. In my experience, I met a number of individuals who were open about their church’s history, who wanted it to be known, and who graciously helped me. I decided to give Kelly access to the fictional documents as a way of reflecting this openness I encountered. I wanted to complicate the picture, so to speak.

I hope you can make it to Powell’s on the 10th. If you do, please come up and say hello. I’d love to properly meet you.

All my best, and thanks for your question.

The 19th Wife is currently the #4 seller in mysteries/thrillers on Amazon.com and #76 overall.

Read all of the LibraryThing questions and answers for David Ebershoff.

Read my original review of The 19th Wife.