Description

From the critically acclaimed author of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree comes The Glovemaker – a stunning historical novel for fans of Cold Mountain.

For almost four years, men came to my cabin carrying trouble on their backs, each one haunted and looking over his shoulder . . . They showed up during the spring, they appeared in the summer and early fall. But never now, never in January . . .

Winter, 1888. In the inhospitable lands of Utah Territory, glovemaker Deborah Tyler awaits her husband’s return home after months working across the state. But as his due date comes and goes without a word, Deborah starts to fear the worst. Facing a future alone, matters are only compounded when a desperate stranger arrives on her doorstep. And with him, trouble.

For although the man claims to just need a place to rest for the night, he wouldn’t be here in the bitter month of January if he wasn’t on the run. And where he goes, lawmen are sure to follow. Lawmen who wouldn’t think twice about burning Deborah’s home to the ground if they thought she’d helped their fugitive.

With her husband’s absence felt stronger by the minute, Deborah must make a decision. A decision that will change her life forever . . .

Publisher Review

Ann Weisgarber excels at the slowly unfurling tale, where the characters' waiting and indecision build tension as deftly as any action sequence. Highly recommend. * Historical Novel Society * Historical novelist Ann Weisgarber beautifully paints the harsh, lonely environment of the Utah Territory . . . while creating tense moments and life-altering revelations of her heroine . . . Weisgarber's strong grip on suspense keeps the pages turning until the last storm passes * Book Page * Weisgarber makes effective use of early Mormon history to explore moral choice, and compression in language, setting, number of characters, and chronology lends this tale an unusual force * Booklist * Marvelous . . . This is a rich, powerful, and wholly immersive tale * Publisher's Weekly * When I first started reading Ann Weisgarber's new book, I had no expectation that a novel about renegade Mormons in Utah in the 1880's could turn out to be so precisely suspenseful that, if Alfred Hitchcock were alive, he might snap up the film rights. The Glovemaker is a humane, high-velocity glimpse into the ever-simmering dilemmas of faith and conscience -- Stephen Harrigan, author of The Gates of the Alamo and Remember Ben Clayton Vintage Americana, as chilling as Cold Mountain -- Red on The Personal History of Rachel DuPree I loved everything about this book - the characters, the plot, the vivid and unique setting - but most of all I loved the fact that it felt so raw and honest -- Juliet West, author of The Faithful A compelling story balanced on the knife edge between religion and ethics, crime and sin, compassion and fear -- Mary Doria Russell, author of Doc and Epitaph The Glovemaker is another triumph from one of our country's finest historical novelists. Once again Ann Weisgarber gives us a spellbinding, multi-layered heroine whose survival is jeopardized by the harshness of the land and the man she loves. A tale of moral complexity as compelling and suspenseful as the great American classic, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Glovemaker deftly explores a woman, alone with her conscience and the devastating consequences of serving community over self, finding the strength to choose right over righteousness -- Sarah Bird, author of Daughter of a Queen Weisgarber's exploration of a woman struggling to satisfy her conscience is telling and touching * Sunday Times * Ann Weisgarber is a historian of the first degree, but her true strength lies in crafting sweeping and often poignant fictional narratives of the iconic women who helped settle the American heartland. Ms. Weisgarber, in The Glovemaker, has once again created a heroine of extraordinary grace and courage in a challenging, at times violent, but ultimately sublime landscape. -- Kathleen Kent, author of The Heretic's Daughter A tense, taut, historically faithful tale * Saga * The Glovemaker, Ann Weisgarber's engrossing, troubling, honest-to-goodness third novel, is as stark and touching as the lives described, as tense and testing as the Utah backlands where it's set, as fine as any fiction you will read this year -- Jim Crace, author of Harvest and The Melody