Coming This Fall...
The Fire
and the Ore
Three spirited wives in nineteenth-century Utah. One husband. A compelling novel of family, sisterhood, and survival by the Washington Post bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow.
1857. Three women—once strangers—come together in unpredictable Utah Territory. Hopeful, desperate, and willful, they’ll allow nothing on Earth or in Heaven to stand in their way.
Following the call of their newfound Mormon faith, Tamar Loader and her family weather a brutal pilgrimage from England to Utah, where Tamar is united with her destined husband, Thomas Ricks. Clinging to a promise for the future, she abides an unexpected surprise: Thomas is already wedded to one woman—Tabitha, a local healer—and betrothed to still another.
Orphaned by tragedy and stranded in the Salt Lake Valley, Jane Shupe struggles to provide for herself and her younger sister. She is no member of the Mormon migration, yet Jane agrees to marry Thomas. Out of necessity, with no love lost, she too must bear the trials of a sister-wife.
But when the US Army’s invasion brings the rebellious Mormon community to heel, Tamar, Jane, and Tabitha are forced to retreat into the hostile desert wilderness with little in common but the same man—and the resolve to keep themselves and their children alive. What they discover, as one, is redemption, a new definition of family, and a bond stronger than matrimony that is tested like never before.
Advance Praise for
The Fire and the Ore
“With The Fire and the Ore, Olivia Hawker delivers a compelling and epic novel that proves she is a master of her craft, a storyteller of supreme talent. This book is all heart. It’s meticulously researched, brilliantly constructed, and rich with historical detail. On top of all that, it’s a stunning and breathtaking page-turner…This is, quite simply, a beautiful book that readers will love and devour.”
—Julianne MacLean, USA Today bestselling author
“A beautiful and nuanced story about a little-known and little-understood period of history and three women who have every reason to dislike one another but, driven by different levels of faith, need, and ambition, find their way to a deep and lasting bond. The Fire and the Ore is a well-researched and deeply felt novel of tragedy, hope, and connection.”
—Megan Chance, bestselling author of A Splendid Ruin
“Based on real family history, this is the heartrending story of the trials endured by Mormon converts as they made their way across the American wilderness to their promised land and of the triumph of sisterhood over adversity. A must read for fans of Western history.”
—Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook
If you love fiction based on Mormon history...
Don't miss The Prophet's Wife, written by the same author! A literary exploration of the life of Emma Hale Smith--first wife of the founding prophet of the LDS religion--The Prophet's Wife was a recommended summer read in the New York Times Book Review!
