Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined

From the moment 16-year-old Eva Mae Hurt laid eyes on Corvallis newcomer Joshua Creffield, she knew things would never be the same again. Before long, this preacher and false prophet has the proper, God-fearing ladies of Corvallis throwing off their corsets, letting down their hair, burning their worldly possessions, and signing over their assets. Eva Mae, her mother, and her sister Maud are just a few of Creffield's ardent followers, and for a time, his revival meetings are even held in the Hurt home, much to the chagrin of their skeptical father. Not so easily charmed by his good looks and charisma, both Hurt and his fellow menfolk are understandably put off by Creffield's particular brand of religious fanaticism. They've lost wives, daughters, girlfriends, and mothers to his way-out ideas. But when it seems things couldn't get any worse, the men discover that Creffield has been intimate with nearly everyone of his followers on the flimsy excuse that he was trying to find the "second mother." What ensues is a strange string of events in which many of the once-rational women are declared insane, institutionalized, and cured, only to fall once again under Creffield's seductive spell. Murder and suicide finally bring the cult down, Creffield and all. Based on actual events, BRIDES OF EDEN is truth imagined. Crew, author of CHILDREN OF THE RIVER, indulged a lifelong fascination in bringing the events surrounding cult-leader Joshua Creffield and his followers to life. From 1903 to 1906, Creffield and his women were the talk of Corvallis, Oregon. Crew, a Corvallis native, grew up seeped in lore about the preacher and his women and was hooked. Through extensive research conducted in the annals of Corvallis history (newspaper articles, historical records, and such), Crew was able to convincingly recreate this engaging, albeit strange, story. --- Reviewed by Tammy L. Currier

This book was interesting, but nothing much happened in the book. While there were many little events, there was nothing big. Brides of Eden wasn't my favorite, and there are better books out there.

This book will keep you riveted with the power of language used, and the situations these naive young women find themselves in. I read this book in one day, nonstop, because I thought it was so good.

I was priveleged to read an advance copy of Linda Crew's new book and to interview her and write a review for the local paper. This is a wondeful book. It is the story of a charming young man, Joshua, who comes to Corvallis, Oregon and manages to start a religious cult, populated mostly by young women. The story is told from the point of view of a 16 year old girl, Eva Mae Hurt, a real person who lived there and then. Her family was very involved with Joshua. Most of the information was culled from newspaper reports from the time, but (apparently), the Holy Rollers are local lore; Crew said she has always known about them. Crew imbues Eva Mae with a vivid personality and thoughts, and, although none of them can be verified, they make sense given the age and situation. This book inspired me to read all of Crew's other books, which I enjoyed. Although all but one are written for Young Adults, some adults will enjoy them. In the case of "Brides of Eden," it definitely will appeal to both young adults and adults. Come learn a bit about old Corvallis, back when it was populated by 2,000, not 50,000 people!

The year is 1903. Eva Mae Hurt is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl living an uneventful life in the small town of Corvallis, Oregon. That all changes when a handsome young man named Joshua Creffield arrives in town and changes the lives of Eva and her family forever. Joshua soon converts many of the town's women, Eva, her sister Maud, and their mother, to his strange religion. That summer, he leads them to a revival on a nearby island, where he soon takes advantage of most of the women, including Eva herself, is his supposed search for the "mother of the second Christ." When Joshua goes too far, the desperate fathers, husbands, and sweethearts of many of the women and girls send them away to asylums and children's homes, hoping to "cure" them of their unhealthy devotion to Creffield. As three years go by, Eva begins to heal, but when the San Francisco Earthquake convinces her the world is ending, she hesitantly joins her sister in returning to Creffield, only to experience even more heartbreak and tragedy. This was a well-written novel that proves that the truth can be even more strange and horrifying than fiction. I reccomend this novel to girls ages fourteen and up who enjoy historical fiction.