Abstract
In the nineteenth century, Mormonism seemed grist for everybody's mill. Humorists like Artemus Ward and Mark Twain made hay out of polygamy; conspiracy theorists like Thomas deWitt Talmage imputed President Garfield's assassination to the Mormons; pseudo-memoirists like "Maria Ward" recounted their seduction, imprisonment, and torture at the hands of Mormon mesmerists; the Republican jump-started their political party with a promise to expunge the Mormon "relic of barbarism"; and pulp fiction writers and serious novelists alike fueled sales with stories of bloodthirsty Danites, lecherous elders, and grief maddened Mormon wives who murdered competitors.
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2011
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2011, Peculiar Pages/B10 Mediaworx. This chapter first appeared in Monsters & Mormons.
Please note that downloads of the book chapter are for private/personal use only.
Purchase online at B10 Mediaworx.
Recommended Citation
Givens, Terryl. "Preface." Preface to Monsters & Mormons, edited by Wm Morris and Theric Jepson, 1-3. El Cerrito, CA: Peculiar Pages, 2011.
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