Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined (1) - Softcover

Crew, Linda

3.57

309 ratings by Goodreads

9781543908497: Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined (1)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1543908497 ISBN 13: 9781543908497

Publisher: BookBaby, 2017

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How could such a thing happen in Corvallis, of all places?....As if nine Christian churches must certainly be enough to save a mere two thousand souls from such doings. As if tidy picked fences alone could keep the female population contentedly at home. As if lacing us tightly enough in our corsets must surely guarantee protection from all evil.... In our defense, I can say only that nothing seemed so terribly strange in the beginning. There were no portents of doom, no angel at the gate warning us of the perils that lay beyond... In this true, stranger-than-fiction tale set at the turn of the 20th Century, sixteen-year-old Eva Mae tells of the excitement and horror of being swept up in a group bearing an uncanny resemblance to contemporary “End time” cults. Her gripping story reminds us that no one is entirely immune to the power of a single charismatic voice heard at a vulnerable time.

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Review:

Many of the citizens of Corvallis, Oregon, hope that the handsome, fervent drifter who claims to have God's ear will continue on his spiritual journey--right on out of town. But its young people, especially 16-year-old Eva Mae Hurt, are completely entranced by itinerant preacher Joshua Creffield. From the first time she sees Joshua in 1903, Eva Mae feels "absolutely riveted." Her feelings are shared by other young women, who follow Joshua unhesitatingly. They listen to his end-of-the-world sermons in a state of ecstasy, confident in their "chosen" status. But Eva is troubled by Joshua's unreasonable rules and the "secret rites" he performs with his "brides of Eden" alone in his tent. Swept up in his wonderful and terrible vision, Eva Mae loses almost everything before she is able to break free of the bindings of Joshua's brainwashing.

Based on historical events, Brides of Eden is strongly written and deeply felt. Using Eva Mae's voice, Crew captures perfectly not only the spell of fanaticism, but also the difficulty in readjusting to everyday life: "If you've felt yourself to be center stage in a great drama, a thrilling story which might, on any given day, climax with your ascension into the clouds, it's not so easy to return to your old place in the real world." Older teens will identify with Eva Mae's aching need to belong to this exclusive group and will be fascinated by this portrait of extremism parallel to the Heaven's Gate and Branch Davidian cults of their time. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

About the Author:

As a native of Corvallis, Linda Crew has long been aware of the story of Joshua and the ?Holy Roller” cult, a part of the town’s lore which is often reprinted in the local papers when some new cult tragedy makes headlines elsewhere in the world. Her first novel was the award-winning Children of the River and her most recent titles include A Heart for Any Fate: Westward to Oregon 1845, and Accidental Addict: a True Story of Pain and Healing?.also Marriage, Real Estate, and Cowboy Dancing. Crew still lives with her husband at Wake Robin Farm in Corvallis, where they were married under the oak trees in 1974.

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