When The Work and the Glory appeared on the Mormon literature scene, it made quite a splash. Huge sales, lots of fans, and, sadly, a misunderstanding by some readers about the historicity of the Steed family. Gerald Lund's choice to invent a family around which to form a story based on historical events is nothing new. In fact, Orson Scott Card succeeded with his book A Woman of Destiny (later retitled Saints) with his creation of a single woman who combined the personal histories of several early Mormon women.

Gallacher and Robinson have taken a different approach: take a real family, one that left behind diaries and other historical notes, and form a novel around that family's experiences. Stick to the history as much as possible; use literary licence only when necessary.

A Banner is Unfurled is the story of the Ezekiel Johnson family. It relates the tragic story of Ezekiel's childhood, his flight from an abusive foster father, and his eventual marriage to Julia Hills. Together they would raise a family of 15 children and see the birth of several grandchildren.

Ezekiel is haunted by his past and tortured by the responsibilities facing him as a father and provider. He turns to alcohol to ease his pain, hurting so many in his family, a family that remains loyal and supportive of him. But the introduction of Mormonism into the family will cause a strain that could split the family apart.

When word of Joseph Smith and Mormonism reached their town, much was made of the young prophet, clearly a fraud, to be avoided at all costs. But then a family member develops an interest, becomes convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and desires baptism. As time passes, the Johnson family develops an interest in this new faith, but Ezekiel is firm in his opposition. The family's new religion causes many problems among the townspeople, even causing one of the children to lose his job. But their faith remains strong.

As the story progresses, we follow the Johnson family and the great challenges that face them as they confront not only the opprobrium of their new religion but also their own personal demons. Mixed into the story is Philastus Hurlbut, erstwhile enemy of the Mormons and a generally unlikable character. That he is related to Ezekiel's son-in-law only complicates matters.

Throughout we get the sense of a family struggling to make sense of demands made upon them by their Mormon faith. They desire nothing more than to live in peace with their neighbors, but find themselves constantly in the midst of conflict.

Several encounters with the Prophet, and with other members of his family, bring a warm, personal touch to the story. I was particularly taken with the portrayal of Emma, ever patient, kind and accepting. (As future volumes of this series are released, I wonder if that positive image of Emma will continue.)

I emphasize again that this is a real family, and the events described in this book really happened. Notes at the close of the volume indicate where characters, or situations, were invented to fill out the story. Reading the notes, I can tell you they are few and far between.

At times, the dialogue is a bit stilted. From time to time, I thought I was reading a statement by someone who was given the words to say -- scripted, in other words. I can't imagine that folks really spoke that way. Part of this may be the lifting of the written text from extant diaries and making it the spoken words of a character. In future volumes, I would suggest the authors re-read the dialogue, and determine if it sounds stilted. Smoothing this out will produce a much better volume.

But having said that, I think the authors are off to a very good start. They leave us wanting to know more, but we'll have to wait for Volume 2. One good thing: readers are in no danger of falling into the "Steed Syndrome" -- the Johnsons were a real family, and their story is compelling.

I look forward to the next entry in the series.

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Jeff Needle
October 18, 2005