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With a raft of science fiction awards and a dedicated following, Orson Scott Card writes imaginative and compelling novels that also explore questions about morality and religion. His Ender series is the most popular; but he also offers a fresh take on the Bible in his Women of Genesis books and has authored other history-based fantasy series.

When ten-year-old Dinah Kirkham saw her father leave their Manchester home in the middle of the night, she basked when he would be back. "Soon," he replied. But he never came back. On that night in 1829, John Kirkham laid the foundation of his daughter's certainty that the only person Dinah could ever really trust was herself.

From that day forward, Dinah worked to support her family, remaining devoted to their welfare even in the face of despair and grinding poverty. Then one day she heard a new message, a new purpose ignited in her heart, and new life opened up before her.

Publishers Weekly

First published in 1984 and marketed as a romance under the title A Woman of Destiny, Card's magnum opus deserves a wider readership than it has hitherto enjoyed. Best known for his fantasy fiction (Ender's Game, etc.), Card does an excellent job of depicting the Dickensian horrors of England undergoing industrialization in the early 19th century as well as the early trials of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints as experienced by his heroine, Dinah Kirkham. After converting to the new "Mormon" faith, Dinah emigrates from Britain to America, where she becomes one of the plural wives of the church's founder and prophet, Joseph Smith. The controversial Smith comes across as convincingly human as do the rest of Card's not always admirable characters. Not just for the LDS faithful (the author is himself a Mormon), this ambitious novel will appeal to anyone interested in a sensitive examination of the roots of religious feeling. (Mar.)