Muus vs. Muus: The Scandal That Shook Norwegian America

by Bodil Stenseth

Genres: History

392 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[DaveNelda Eitreim · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good solid nonfiction about Norwegian American immigrants and women's rights in America.

[Allison Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best non-fiction historical books I've read in a long time.

[Mike Palecek · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blend of Bodil Stenseth’s original story and Kari Lie Dover’s worthy translation and editing makes Muus vs Muus an immediate classic of Norwegian American history. It is an intimate look into the relationship between one of the most powerful Norwegian ministers in America in the 1870s and 80s and the pastor’s wife. It tells how their home disputes were “on trial” both in their local congregation and in the American justice system. Their story was a community scandal.

The wife, Oline Muus, had good reasons for feeling psychologically abused by her “cold as ice” husband, Rev. Bernt Muus, and sued the founder of St. Olaf’s College to get control of her deceased father’s inheritance money. The case went all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Oline was awarded some of her inheritance money and damages. After that judgement, she sued and was legally separated from Bernt. She moved out of her community, going first to Minneapolis, then to South Dakota and ended up in a Scandinavian community in Alabama.

Stenseth and Lie-Dover wonderfully wove together the facts in this story. At times, the writers took a paragraph or two to delightfully describe a character or vividly place the reader at the scene. The real richness of Muus vs Muus is the historical context provided about the last half of the 19th century, both inside the Norwegian-American community and in this immigrant group’s interaction with an evolving American society.

The writer’s and editor’s unbiased explanation about conflicts in the Norwegian Lutheran immigrant church and its power on the community, as well as on how Muus vs Muus was a women’s rights test case, makes this book fairly unique. Their artful storytelling of Oline’s defiance makes this book a “must read.”

The author and editor backed up this tragic, sensational story with a solid bibliography and detailed footnotes to prove their claims and to point the reader to further information. The endnotes provide a behind the scenes look at the making of this book. The timeline in the back is a useful reference tool. Readers who have a good background knowledge of Norwegian-American history will get the most from this book.

Tusen takk, Bodil, Kari and co-translater Torild.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norwegian Historian Bodil Stenseth wrote Muus vs. Maus: The Scandal That Shook Norwegian America. The book was edited and translated by Kari Lie Dorer. Torild Homstad also translated the book. In the “editor’s afterword” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 313-322), Kari Lie Dorer writes, “Bernt Julius Muus was Minnesota’s first resident pastor for the Norwegian Lutheran church” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 313). Brent Julius Muus founded “St. Olaf’s School, later to become St. Olaf’s College” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 313). Dorer writes that the life of Bernt Julius Muus was monumental” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 316). After her separation from Brent Julius Muus, she moved to Minneapolis, where Dorer writes, “she blossomed into a first-generation immigrant woman” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 316). Dorer writes, “Oline Muus' actions had a profound effect on the other women in her community and the following generation by demanding that her-a woman's voice be heard” (Stenseth, Dorer, & Homstad 316). The book Muus vs. Muus follows court cases involving Brent Julius Muus and Oline Muus. One of the court cases is within the court system of the state of Minnesota, and the other court case was a discipline hearing within the congregation of Holden Lutheran Church in Minnesota to decide whether to punish Oline Muus for bringing a complaint against Bernt Julius Muus. The book has illustrations. The book has a timeline, a section of notes, a bibliography, and an index. Muus vs. Muus uses the cases of Oline Muus and Brent Julius Muus to explore social history, religious history, and many different types of history within the history of the Norwegian American community.
Works Cited:
Dorer, Kari Lie. 2024. “Editor’s Afterword.” In Muus vs. Muus: The Scandal That Shook Norwegian America by Bodil Stenseth. Edited by Kari Lie Dorer. Translated by Kari Lie Dorer & Torild Homstad. Pages 313-322.

[Ann Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important history here, but it was a rather dry read. Still, I'm glad I read it!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of Norwegian settlers in southern Minnesota.

[Samm Dregseth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed to be more about the founding/organization of the Norwegian churches in America than the 'scandal' itself.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting history of the Muűs family and the Norwegian church in America.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a very difficult time with this book as it was such a dry historical document. I did not in fact finish. It took forever to get to the point of the filing of the wife's complaint and I ended up giving up on it.