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The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier
From a historian and senior editor at Atlas Obscura, a fascinating account of the daring nineteenth-century women who moved to South Dakota to divorce their husbands and start living on their own termsFor a woman traveling without her husband in the late nineteenth century, there was only one reason to take the train all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, one sure to garner disapproval from fellow passengers. On the American frontier, the new state offered a tempting freedom often difficult to obtain elsewhere: divorce.
With the laxest divorce laws in the country, five railroad lines, and the finest hotel for hundreds of miles, the small city became the unexpected headquarters for unhappy spouses—infamous around the world as The Divorce Colony. These society divorcees put Sioux Falls at the center of a heated national debate over the future of American marriage. As clashes mounted in the country's gossip columns, church halls, courtrooms and even the White House, the women caught in the crosshairs in Sioux Falls geared up for a fight they didn't go looking for, a fight that was the only path to their freedom.
In The Divorce Colony, writer and historian April White unveils the incredible social, political, and personal dramas that unfolded in Sioux Falls and reverberated around the country through the stories of four very different women: Maggie De Stuers, a descendent of the influential New York Astors whose divorce captivated the world; Mary Nevins Blaine, a daughter-in-law to a presidential hopeful with a vendetta against her meddling mother-in-law; Blanche Molineux, an aspiring actress escaping a husband she believed to be a murderer; and Flora Bigelow Dodge, a vivacious woman determined, against all odds, to obtain a "dignified" divorce.
Entertaining, enlightening, and utterly feminist, The Divorce Colony is a rich, deeply researched tapestry of social history and human drama that reads like a novel. Amidst salacious newspaper headlines, juicy court documents, and high-profile cameos from the era's most well-known players, this story lays bare the journey of the turn-of-the-century socialites who took their lives into their own hands and reshaped the country's attitudes about marriage and divorce.
With the laxest divorce laws in the country, five railroad lines, and the finest hotel for hundreds of miles, the small city became the unexpected headquarters for unhappy spouses—infamous around the world as The Divorce Colony. These society divorcees put Sioux Falls at the center of a heated national debate over the future of American marriage. As clashes mounted in the country's gossip columns, church halls, courtrooms and even the White House, the women caught in the crosshairs in Sioux Falls geared up for a fight they didn't go looking for, a fight that was the only path to their freedom.
In The Divorce Colony, writer and historian April White unveils the incredible social, political, and personal dramas that unfolded in Sioux Falls and reverberated around the country through the stories of four very different women: Maggie De Stuers, a descendent of the influential New York Astors whose divorce captivated the world; Mary Nevins Blaine, a daughter-in-law to a presidential hopeful with a vendetta against her meddling mother-in-law; Blanche Molineux, an aspiring actress escaping a husband she believed to be a murderer; and Flora Bigelow Dodge, a vivacious woman determined, against all odds, to obtain a "dignified" divorce.
Entertaining, enlightening, and utterly feminist, The Divorce Colony is a rich, deeply researched tapestry of social history and human drama that reads like a novel. Amidst salacious newspaper headlines, juicy court documents, and high-profile cameos from the era's most well-known players, this story lays bare the journey of the turn-of-the-century socialites who took their lives into their own hands and reshaped the country's attitudes about marriage and divorce.
8 pages, Audiobook
First published June 14, 2022
141 people are currently reading
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About the author
April White
6 books33 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
April White is a senior writer and editor at Atlas Obscura. She previously worked as an editor at Smithsonian Magazine. She holds a master’s degree in history and her work has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, The Atavist Magazine, and JSTOR Daily, where she wrote a regular column on the history of food,. She lives in Washington, DC.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
April White is a senior writer and editor at Atlas Obscura. She previously worked as an editor at Smithsonian Magazine. She holds a master’s degree in history and her work has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, The Atavist Magazine, and JSTOR Daily, where she wrote a regular column on the history of food,. She lives in Washington, DC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 314 reviews
March 12, 2025
Giveaway Win!
I've never been married but if I do get married someday, it'll probably end in divorce. I know me and I'm not the marrying type. Luckily I live in a time when getting a divorce is "relatively" easy to get divorced. It still cost money and it's cheaper and easier if both parties want the divorce but if you don't have kids and you have the money to file the papers it's more of a nuisance than anything else( I'm only using my family and friends experiences as my opinion on this).
But over 100 years ago things were different. Most states made it impossible to get divorced for any reason. Enter Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where for the right price one could obtain a divorce. This wasn't for the everyday American, a Sioux Falls divorce was expensive. You needed to travel to Sioux Falls, set up residency anywhere from 3 months to 6 months and you needed to pay for a Sioux Falls lawyer. Sioux Falls quickly became the go to place for rich white (mostly women) to get divorced.
The Divorce Colony explores the cases of 4 women who moved to Sioux Falls to end their marriages and the consequences of their actions. Divorce was and still is a touchy subject both personally and politically. With families, religious leaders and politicians using "the sanctity of marriage" to oppress women, people of color and lgbtq+ communities. This book was an interesting look at how difficult life was for women, even the very rich back in those days. Despite being wealthy these women were often powerless in society and even after getting their freedom these women were often banished from society(it won't surprise you that divorced men just continued on with their lives unimpeded).
I enjoyed The Divorce Colony and flew this read. I would have liked to know more about non rich women who moved to Sioux Falls seeking divorces. I'm sure some women must have spent every penny they had in an attempt to end their unhappy marriages but the author never mentions them. And I would love to know how non white women were treated when seeking divorces. As interesting as I may find the 1%, those women would have been just fine divorce or no divorce. And an exploration of regular women would be super fascinating to read about.
Overall I fully recommend this book and I look forward to seeking more books on this subject in the future.
I've never been married but if I do get married someday, it'll probably end in divorce. I know me and I'm not the marrying type. Luckily I live in a time when getting a divorce is "relatively" easy to get divorced. It still cost money and it's cheaper and easier if both parties want the divorce but if you don't have kids and you have the money to file the papers it's more of a nuisance than anything else( I'm only using my family and friends experiences as my opinion on this).
But over 100 years ago things were different. Most states made it impossible to get divorced for any reason. Enter Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where for the right price one could obtain a divorce. This wasn't for the everyday American, a Sioux Falls divorce was expensive. You needed to travel to Sioux Falls, set up residency anywhere from 3 months to 6 months and you needed to pay for a Sioux Falls lawyer. Sioux Falls quickly became the go to place for rich white (mostly women) to get divorced.
The Divorce Colony explores the cases of 4 women who moved to Sioux Falls to end their marriages and the consequences of their actions. Divorce was and still is a touchy subject both personally and politically. With families, religious leaders and politicians using "the sanctity of marriage" to oppress women, people of color and lgbtq+ communities. This book was an interesting look at how difficult life was for women, even the very rich back in those days. Despite being wealthy these women were often powerless in society and even after getting their freedom these women were often banished from society(it won't surprise you that divorced men just continued on with their lives unimpeded).
I enjoyed The Divorce Colony and flew this read. I would have liked to know more about non rich women who moved to Sioux Falls seeking divorces. I'm sure some women must have spent every penny they had in an attempt to end their unhappy marriages but the author never mentions them. And I would love to know how non white women were treated when seeking divorces. As interesting as I may find the 1%, those women would have been just fine divorce or no divorce. And an exploration of regular women would be super fascinating to read about.
Overall I fully recommend this book and I look forward to seeking more books on this subject in the future.
October 2, 2022
It was difficult to obtain a divorce in the eastern US in the late 1880's. The newly formed states had more liberal divorce laws, so women of means (some of "super means") and some men went west to get their divorces. Over time Sioux Falls, SD developed hotels and a legal community to assist plaintiffs who had a 6 month residency requirement.
The story is told through the individuals: How do you divorce a man who married you for your money and can use the money he got from you to hire expensive lawyers to contest it? How do you divorce the indolent son of a presidential candidate? What happens if you try to divorce your wealthy husband convicted of murder when his conviction is overturned? What if the woman and her husband were just not suited to each other? There are briefer references to other divorces such as those initiated by men.
The divorces obtained in this way were not a done deal. The aggrieved spouse "back home" could contest the divorce in most states. Reciprocity was not guaranteed until 1945 when the Supreme Court heard the case about a NC husband and wife with western divorces imprisoned for bigamy and decided that a divorce in one state must recognized by all states.
Sioux Falls was of two minds about its "divorce colony". The author shows its importance to the local economy and how some plaintiff's settled in Sioux Falls with some acceptance by the community. Religious leaders (with the exception of the Unitarians) were active against it. The politics of changing divorce requirements is covered.
The author does not develop the sub-title of how women "revolutionized marriage". The stories show these to be women of means attempting to take control of their lives. The profiled women and the others mentioned are hardly feminists. None seems to think about the suffrage issue. Second marriages often take place very soon after the divorces are granted.
This is a very cursory view of this issue and the 4 profiled women.
I could not understand the women - Did Blanche fear for her life? Why did Flora need a divorce? (Her subsequent marriage was a surprise, was this the real reason?). These women do not seem to have relationships with their children.
The value for me was the description of the attitudes of the times and the outline of the history of divorce in the US.
The story is told through the individuals: How do you divorce a man who married you for your money and can use the money he got from you to hire expensive lawyers to contest it? How do you divorce the indolent son of a presidential candidate? What happens if you try to divorce your wealthy husband convicted of murder when his conviction is overturned? What if the woman and her husband were just not suited to each other? There are briefer references to other divorces such as those initiated by men.
The divorces obtained in this way were not a done deal. The aggrieved spouse "back home" could contest the divorce in most states. Reciprocity was not guaranteed until 1945 when the Supreme Court heard the case about a NC husband and wife with western divorces imprisoned for bigamy and decided that a divorce in one state must recognized by all states.
Sioux Falls was of two minds about its "divorce colony". The author shows its importance to the local economy and how some plaintiff's settled in Sioux Falls with some acceptance by the community. Religious leaders (with the exception of the Unitarians) were active against it. The politics of changing divorce requirements is covered.
The author does not develop the sub-title of how women "revolutionized marriage". The stories show these to be women of means attempting to take control of their lives. The profiled women and the others mentioned are hardly feminists. None seems to think about the suffrage issue. Second marriages often take place very soon after the divorces are granted.
This is a very cursory view of this issue and the 4 profiled women.
I could not understand the women - Did Blanche fear for her life? Why did Flora need a divorce? (Her subsequent marriage was a surprise, was this the real reason?). These women do not seem to have relationships with their children.
The value for me was the description of the attitudes of the times and the outline of the history of divorce in the US.
June 27, 2022
THE DIVORCE COLONY
BY: APRIL WHITE
This was an eye opening account of divorce that centers around four White well to do women who traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to obtain a divorce from their husbands. This was in the end of the 1800's and most women would travel by train and stay in a very fancy hotel called the Cataract House to stay the minimum of time required to establish residency. It was the place to go during that era that required the shortest amount of time of establishing an address that was most often temporary until divorce was granted. In most cases once the divorce was obtained, the person would immediately leave Sioux Falls and move back to where they lived. This book chronicles four women of means and describes their situations. Not everybody had the money that it took to travel to South Dakota to bypass the stricter laws in their home States to terminate their marriages. This fact I found surprising because of the fewer privileges allowed women during this time period than White men is that two out of three to seek a divorce were women.
The full time residents of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, didn't like the idea that their hotel hosted all of the temporary folks using their town to basically be a revolving door of temporary residents staying only to leave once their divorces were granted.
This book examines closely the religious and political opinions of these "migratory divorces," that at one point reached President Theodore Roosevelt.
I found this narrative to be very enlightening about a historical record that is meticulously researched. It is basically divided up into four parts telling about each of the four women interspersed with factual data about many other cases. This was at times overwhelming with information but also accessible in the way this non-fiction book divided the four parts about four women who sought divorces during the late 1800's into the first decade of the 1900's. Part One discusses an Astor descendant. Her name was Maggie De Stuers whose lineage was from the rich Astor family from New York. Part Two focuses on Mary Nevins Blaine the daughter-in-law of a political family whose Father-in-law had aspirations of running for President. Part Three was about Blanche Molineux, a woman who thought her husband a murderer. Part Four was about Flora Bigelow a Socialite who almost stayed on to make her home in Sioux Falls, which stood out to me because everyone else didn't that I read about. I had never heard of any of these divorcees before reading this. I imagine everybody will recognize the Astor family.
This is a book that was fascinating and almost reads like fiction. It is very dense with details and one that I highly recommend to everyone who is interested in the history of marriage and divorce during the Gilded age and the reverberations of that topic and how it relates to the present.
None of the main four women discussed in this book wanted the attention or infamy that they received. The newspapers seemed to be very interested in reporting about the four women that make up the four parts of this book. They received the undesired attention both within the U.S. and abroad with the attention that celebrities garner because they were thrust center stage by the men who opposed them and the religious, political, legal, and social obstacles they faced. Maggie for the most part avoided the press, but relented and finally spoke her truth after her husband disparaged her first.
I found this book to be different from what I had initially expected it to be. It surprised me that such a scholarly written book would also be as interesting and highly original as it is. There is such a broad scope of information and people associated as well as different States case law to be included in a review of April White's master's thesis which is inclusive of the divorce colony's full history. Prior to her master's thesis she published an article about Maggie De Stuers's story in the Atavist magazine. Perhaps Maggie's story stands out to be more well known because of her being a member of the Astor family and its fame for wealth and because the Astor's were among the "four hundred". This book succeeds in having a scholarly basis and origin and guarantees to be intriguing and also is not light reading as its subject might suggest. It is comprehensive and well written citing an impressive amount of primary sources.
Publication Date: 6/14/2022
Thank you to Net Galley, April White and Hachette Books for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
#TheDivorceColony #AprilWhite #HachetteBooks #NetGalley
BY: APRIL WHITE
This was an eye opening account of divorce that centers around four White well to do women who traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to obtain a divorce from their husbands. This was in the end of the 1800's and most women would travel by train and stay in a very fancy hotel called the Cataract House to stay the minimum of time required to establish residency. It was the place to go during that era that required the shortest amount of time of establishing an address that was most often temporary until divorce was granted. In most cases once the divorce was obtained, the person would immediately leave Sioux Falls and move back to where they lived. This book chronicles four women of means and describes their situations. Not everybody had the money that it took to travel to South Dakota to bypass the stricter laws in their home States to terminate their marriages. This fact I found surprising because of the fewer privileges allowed women during this time period than White men is that two out of three to seek a divorce were women.
The full time residents of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, didn't like the idea that their hotel hosted all of the temporary folks using their town to basically be a revolving door of temporary residents staying only to leave once their divorces were granted.
This book examines closely the religious and political opinions of these "migratory divorces," that at one point reached President Theodore Roosevelt.
I found this narrative to be very enlightening about a historical record that is meticulously researched. It is basically divided up into four parts telling about each of the four women interspersed with factual data about many other cases. This was at times overwhelming with information but also accessible in the way this non-fiction book divided the four parts about four women who sought divorces during the late 1800's into the first decade of the 1900's. Part One discusses an Astor descendant. Her name was Maggie De Stuers whose lineage was from the rich Astor family from New York. Part Two focuses on Mary Nevins Blaine the daughter-in-law of a political family whose Father-in-law had aspirations of running for President. Part Three was about Blanche Molineux, a woman who thought her husband a murderer. Part Four was about Flora Bigelow a Socialite who almost stayed on to make her home in Sioux Falls, which stood out to me because everyone else didn't that I read about. I had never heard of any of these divorcees before reading this. I imagine everybody will recognize the Astor family.
This is a book that was fascinating and almost reads like fiction. It is very dense with details and one that I highly recommend to everyone who is interested in the history of marriage and divorce during the Gilded age and the reverberations of that topic and how it relates to the present.
None of the main four women discussed in this book wanted the attention or infamy that they received. The newspapers seemed to be very interested in reporting about the four women that make up the four parts of this book. They received the undesired attention both within the U.S. and abroad with the attention that celebrities garner because they were thrust center stage by the men who opposed them and the religious, political, legal, and social obstacles they faced. Maggie for the most part avoided the press, but relented and finally spoke her truth after her husband disparaged her first.
I found this book to be different from what I had initially expected it to be. It surprised me that such a scholarly written book would also be as interesting and highly original as it is. There is such a broad scope of information and people associated as well as different States case law to be included in a review of April White's master's thesis which is inclusive of the divorce colony's full history. Prior to her master's thesis she published an article about Maggie De Stuers's story in the Atavist magazine. Perhaps Maggie's story stands out to be more well known because of her being a member of the Astor family and its fame for wealth and because the Astor's were among the "four hundred". This book succeeds in having a scholarly basis and origin and guarantees to be intriguing and also is not light reading as its subject might suggest. It is comprehensive and well written citing an impressive amount of primary sources.
Publication Date: 6/14/2022
Thank you to Net Galley, April White and Hachette Books for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
#TheDivorceColony #AprilWhite #HachetteBooks #NetGalley
February 6, 2023
Honestly could not get through this book based on the grammar/sentence structure, the writing felt chunky and it was difficult to focus on the minute character/historical exposition details while parsing through the aggressive use of passive voice. I originally discovered the historical phenomenon of the “divorce colony” from an episode of the podcast, “Criminal”, and I unfortunately feel this book did not do the concept justice. While I commend the author for her ability to incorporate/analyze many primary source materials, this truly just did not do it for me at the end of the day.
April 12, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy. I really wanted to like this book and share it with my students. The story is not concise and there is too many details. It’s a very fascinating historical story that gets bogged down with descriptions of minor players.
October 5, 2022
I’m happily married and I’ll never shut up about how having the freedom to divorce is a huge part of what makes that possible.
Pretty hard to feel like marriage is sacred when you don’t have a choice to stay. Thanks to these brave women (and to April White for an impressively researched and readable gem) for pushing boundaries and changing hearts, I’ll never have to worry about that right.
I want more books that illustrate that divorce isn’t always a tragedy. It’s miraculous that women don’t have to be chattel to their husbands, and we need to celebrate the good instead of just bemoaning a high divorce rate year after year. And if you’re worried about the children? Kids are usually better off not having parents who hate each other under the same roof. Divorce is hard, but don’t forget Sally Field’s success story—how it saved her from being shackled to a guy so manipulative he was willing to dress in drag and traumatize his entire family just so he could have his own way. Every time a woman takes control of her life and divorces a trash husband, an angel gets its wings.
Pretty hard to feel like marriage is sacred when you don’t have a choice to stay. Thanks to these brave women (and to April White for an impressively researched and readable gem) for pushing boundaries and changing hearts, I’ll never have to worry about that right.
I want more books that illustrate that divorce isn’t always a tragedy. It’s miraculous that women don’t have to be chattel to their husbands, and we need to celebrate the good instead of just bemoaning a high divorce rate year after year. And if you’re worried about the children? Kids are usually better off not having parents who hate each other under the same roof. Divorce is hard, but don’t forget Sally Field’s success story—how it saved her from being shackled to a guy so manipulative he was willing to dress in drag and traumatize his entire family just so he could have his own way. Every time a woman takes control of her life and divorces a trash husband, an angel gets its wings.
March 5, 2022
Spending time on genealogy and history has taught me that divorce is not nearly as rare as I once thought. Divorce has been encoded in American law since colonial times. For most of that time, divorce was prohibitive for most people, due to cost or effort. It was also a blot on your reputation, especially for women. But many people did pursue a divorce. Many who sought a divorce before the widespread availability of no-fault divorces found the laws in their own states to be difficult -- cause for divorce might be only desertion or adultery. Since every state had its own laws, people who could afford it filed for divorce in friendlier states, and this required becoming a resident. How long it took to become a legal resident was also up to each state, so a state that had lenient divorce laws and a short time to establish residency could become very popular.
The Divorce Colony is about Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which had lenient divorce laws and a mere three-month residency requirement. Until 1908, Sioux Falls encouraged divorce tourism with an agreeable judge and a comfortable hotel for would-be residents. It still wasn't a cheap proposition, so most of those taking advantage of the situation were at least middle class. The Divorce Colony tells the story of four of the women who settled in Sioux Falls in order to dissolve their marriages. It's a great slice of history. Thanks to Hachette Books for a review copy.
The Divorce Colony is about Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which had lenient divorce laws and a mere three-month residency requirement. Until 1908, Sioux Falls encouraged divorce tourism with an agreeable judge and a comfortable hotel for would-be residents. It still wasn't a cheap proposition, so most of those taking advantage of the situation were at least middle class. The Divorce Colony tells the story of four of the women who settled in Sioux Falls in order to dissolve their marriages. It's a great slice of history. Thanks to Hachette Books for a review copy.
July 30, 2022
This book is so interesting. I grew up in Sioux Falls and had no idea about this part of its history. While not quite an Erik Larsonesque-nonfiction-that-reads-like-fiction-book, it is pretty close. It is fascinating to me that the location that the hotel occupied is now the location of the headquarters of Wells Fargo bank—also the result of state laws that made it attractive for national banks to headquarter in the state (just like the attractive divorce laws of the early 20th century). I also happened to read this book right before reading Trust by Hernan Diaz and The Man Who Broke Capitalism by David Gelles. Quite the trio of books to connect the gilded age, the financial system, greed, and feminism over time.
August 10, 2022
This details a quirky slice of history that I'd never encountered before. The issues these women had to deal with were so archaic, and yet it all feels weirdly relevant as women are fighting for our bodily autonomy and the Supreme Court threatens our right to privacy.
September 21, 2022
I just love listening (yes, audio) to little/unknown histories. The Dakotas divorce laws varied from the rest of the US for decades and decades. With a steady influx of mostly short-term people showing up and residing in the state just long enough to become citizens and proceed with divorce, the back stories of these women are mesmerizing to me. I can't get over how it would have all broken down with such efficiency sans Twitter and status updates. Rolling in and out on trains, mailed correspondence to lawyers back East, short term rentals & long-term hotel guests-- all of it seems unattainable but with motivation to end bad marriages the four women at the center of this book overcame insurmountable indifference in a society that frowned upon the institution of divorce.
March 14, 2022
Pretty much as soon as I heard about this book, I had to read it! I love Gilded Age history, fiction and literature, so the title and cover alone were pure catnip to me.
White tells the true stories of four Gilded Age socialites who, along with hundreds of others over the course of several decades, moved to South Dakota in the hopes of utilizing the new state's less restrictive divorce laws. While this is a fascinating, well-researched look at the social and legal history of divorce reform during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, White's captivating narrative style really keeps the books focus on the women involved and those around them. Their individual stories drive home the sense of powerlessness, terror and despair that drove these women thousands of miles from their homes and families in order to escape traumatic, even dangerous, marriages.
Throughout the book, I found myself rooting for Maggie, Mary, Blanche and Flora and hoping that they would be able to find happiness, while remembering that the vast majority of their contemporaries lacked the wealth, connections and immense privilege that gave these women even this risky, difficult chance at escaping a bad marriage. I particularly appreciated the epilogue, which brings us up to date from 1907 onwards, and made the connections between the legal, social and legislative battles of the Gilded Age and the impact of those advances on our current system.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys narrative nonfiction, Gilded Age history, and true accounts of strong women who fought for their second chances.
White tells the true stories of four Gilded Age socialites who, along with hundreds of others over the course of several decades, moved to South Dakota in the hopes of utilizing the new state's less restrictive divorce laws. While this is a fascinating, well-researched look at the social and legal history of divorce reform during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, White's captivating narrative style really keeps the books focus on the women involved and those around them. Their individual stories drive home the sense of powerlessness, terror and despair that drove these women thousands of miles from their homes and families in order to escape traumatic, even dangerous, marriages.
Throughout the book, I found myself rooting for Maggie, Mary, Blanche and Flora and hoping that they would be able to find happiness, while remembering that the vast majority of their contemporaries lacked the wealth, connections and immense privilege that gave these women even this risky, difficult chance at escaping a bad marriage. I particularly appreciated the epilogue, which brings us up to date from 1907 onwards, and made the connections between the legal, social and legislative battles of the Gilded Age and the impact of those advances on our current system.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys narrative nonfiction, Gilded Age history, and true accounts of strong women who fought for their second chances.
April 3, 2022
***I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway***
Y'all, let's take a moment to be grateful for the women who demanded the right to divorce their husbands, regardless of reason, and forced society to accept their existence.
Divorce is something we take for granted now. It's an option and even though it's still painful and expensive and time consuming in many cases...nobody seriously questions the right of someone to divorce. The women (and some men) in The Divorce Colony traveled across the country in 1800s to live for 6 months or more in order to get a divorce decree that many eastern states wouldn't even recognize. Politicians and preachers railed that these women were destroying society. It's preposterous to modern ears.
The women of The Divorce Colony were all rich, white, "society" types from the east coast. We have to remember that those less privileged had no such option to get out of an ugly marriage. Things changed slowly as our society has moved towards equality but there is still a long way to go.
All in all, this was an interesting little micro-history that resonates into the modern day.
Y'all, let's take a moment to be grateful for the women who demanded the right to divorce their husbands, regardless of reason, and forced society to accept their existence.
Divorce is something we take for granted now. It's an option and even though it's still painful and expensive and time consuming in many cases...nobody seriously questions the right of someone to divorce. The women (and some men) in The Divorce Colony traveled across the country in 1800s to live for 6 months or more in order to get a divorce decree that many eastern states wouldn't even recognize. Politicians and preachers railed that these women were destroying society. It's preposterous to modern ears.
The women of The Divorce Colony were all rich, white, "society" types from the east coast. We have to remember that those less privileged had no such option to get out of an ugly marriage. Things changed slowly as our society has moved towards equality but there is still a long way to go.
All in all, this was an interesting little micro-history that resonates into the modern day.
June 7, 2022
This was an informative book but felt like it was only for a narrow audience. I would’ve liked to have heard from different perspectives and experiences that were not from white and upper class women. Especially the native viewpoint since this took place in Sioux Falls South Dakota that sits on the ancestral lands of Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (https://native-land.ca/mapbox-map/). The book was a bit of a slog to get through with a lot of unnecessary details.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an arc!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an arc!
February 21, 2024
this is another entry in the long line of ways in which women were treated like property and how, now, choosing who you marry and divorce is very much a luxury not afforded to many women historically. kinda wanna visit Sioux Falls now
January 18, 2023
I’m not sure how interesting this would be to people who haven’t studied divorce law, but it was interesting to read about how some of that case law came to be!
January 3, 2026
Rounded up from a 3.5
January 19, 2023
I am biased toward South Dakota history, but this was such an unheard of story that I was completely enthralled. White had such characters to develop a non-fiction book around in order to keep the history telling entertaining.
September 16, 2022
This was a library book club pick and we got to have the author zoom in from D.C. to talk with us!!!! What a fun and memorable experience! I am rounding up to 4 stars just because of how enjoyable it is to listen to cute April geek out over the findings of her 9 years of research. What a gem. I asked her a few questions, one of which was, “Which of the four women was your favorite, or the one you’d like to hang out with?” It made her laugh and think 🤔 She came up with Flora, as she had access to all of Flora’s letters so she felt like she was best connected to Flora. She knew her thoughts and opinions through the whole divorce colony process.
Anyway, super fascinating as I am a South Dakotan yet had never heard of the “divorce colony” of Sioux Falls in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One “only” had to make the trip here, live for 90 days (there was a hotel that accommodated them) to be considered a resident, then file a petition for divorce. This was about the most lax across the country. She also made a valid point about how divorce isn’t celebrated, but the right to divorce is as much a civil right as any of our laws in who we choose to marry, and the divorce colonists paved the way for women to have the freedom to be able to choose how to live their lives. 3.5 stars
Anyway, super fascinating as I am a South Dakotan yet had never heard of the “divorce colony” of Sioux Falls in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One “only” had to make the trip here, live for 90 days (there was a hotel that accommodated them) to be considered a resident, then file a petition for divorce. This was about the most lax across the country. She also made a valid point about how divorce isn’t celebrated, but the right to divorce is as much a civil right as any of our laws in who we choose to marry, and the divorce colonists paved the way for women to have the freedom to be able to choose how to live their lives. 3.5 stars
July 6, 2022
Talk about a timely non-fiction read!
[gifted | Thank you @hachetteaudio & @hachettebooks]
Okay, now that I read back my opening line, it may lead one to the wrong conclusion. No divorce is happening over here!! This book felt very timely because of how many parallels could be drawn between the way divorce was being handled/talked about/fought for in the late 1800’s - early 1900’s and the current events around abortion/women’s bodily autonomy. How the “morals” and religious opinions of white men were used to make laws that really only hurt and punished women and why?? To “protect the family” 🤢
As one archbishop, who found the upswing in divorce to be “nothing less than appalling,” said in 1908…
“In former times, a woman who was divorced was shunned. Now this is not the case. If divorce is to be checked, let the divorced person be shunned.”
Notice anything missing from that quote?? Men!! The involvement of the men from the equation! Let’s just shun/punish the divorced women and not hold men accountable for squat! Now let’s substitute pregnant or abortion seeking/getting for divorce and well, you get the idea.
It was also a great reminder of how far we have come and how it is only because people (women) fought for every inch we’ve been given!
I found this book fascinating! It was not dry or boring as non-fiction can sometimes be. It was a surprisingly fast read/listen, I finished it in 2 days.
🎧 The audio narrator, Lisa Flanagan, was great. I enjoyed listening to the stories of these women who sought a divorce in the Divorce Colony of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My only complaint about the audio is that is a little harder to realize we’ve switched to a new character arc, as it switches mid-chapter, than it would be with the physical book. But really that wasn’t a big enough problem to make me not recommend the audio.
If you are looking to read a non-fiction book this summer, I recommend this one!
[gifted | Thank you @hachetteaudio & @hachettebooks]
Okay, now that I read back my opening line, it may lead one to the wrong conclusion. No divorce is happening over here!! This book felt very timely because of how many parallels could be drawn between the way divorce was being handled/talked about/fought for in the late 1800’s - early 1900’s and the current events around abortion/women’s bodily autonomy. How the “morals” and religious opinions of white men were used to make laws that really only hurt and punished women and why?? To “protect the family” 🤢
As one archbishop, who found the upswing in divorce to be “nothing less than appalling,” said in 1908…
“In former times, a woman who was divorced was shunned. Now this is not the case. If divorce is to be checked, let the divorced person be shunned.”
Notice anything missing from that quote?? Men!! The involvement of the men from the equation! Let’s just shun/punish the divorced women and not hold men accountable for squat! Now let’s substitute pregnant or abortion seeking/getting for divorce and well, you get the idea.
It was also a great reminder of how far we have come and how it is only because people (women) fought for every inch we’ve been given!
I found this book fascinating! It was not dry or boring as non-fiction can sometimes be. It was a surprisingly fast read/listen, I finished it in 2 days.
🎧 The audio narrator, Lisa Flanagan, was great. I enjoyed listening to the stories of these women who sought a divorce in the Divorce Colony of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My only complaint about the audio is that is a little harder to realize we’ve switched to a new character arc, as it switches mid-chapter, than it would be with the physical book. But really that wasn’t a big enough problem to make me not recommend the audio.
If you are looking to read a non-fiction book this summer, I recommend this one!
October 30, 2022
I'm surprised I've never heard of the Divorce Colony before! It seems like something I would have heard of on Stuff You Missed in History Class. Regardless, this is just the kind of story I love. As the author said, the stories of people who changed the world just by living their lives.
And also as the author said, if we're looking for the equality to love who you want, that also includes divorce.
And also as the author said, if we're looking for the equality to love who you want, that also includes divorce.
September 20, 2022
Okay, so I'll admit this book was a little dense and at times it was hard to keep track of the married versus divorced names of the colonists and what city the author was currently talking about, BUT it was still a fascinating look at what divorce looked like for women before the Supreme Court's decision in the Williams case that gave a divorce decree that was granted in one state, the full faith and credit of the Constitution in other states. An interesting decision at the time considering the wide variety of acceptable reasons for divorce among the states. What would be a legitimate reason for divorce in South Dakota, was not a legitimate reason for divorce in the state of New York; essentially rendering a couple living in South Dakota as divorced, while that same couple, should they move to the state of New York, bigamous.
So overall, while it was a little difficult to wade through at times, I really enjoyed the look at how individual state laws made living in the United States chaotic at the turn of the 19th century.
So overall, while it was a little difficult to wade through at times, I really enjoyed the look at how individual state laws made living in the United States chaotic at the turn of the 19th century.
June 12, 2023
Loved the history as I’m a Sioux Falls resident! I listened on audiobook so I struggled to keep all the characters straight. It felt like things jumped around between characters and stories. I am rounding up to four only because I appreciate the extensive research!
The topic was fascinating though! I want someone to make a Divorce Colony tour through Sioux Falls now!
The topic was fascinating though! I want someone to make a Divorce Colony tour through Sioux Falls now!
March 16, 2024
This was definitely an interesting read about my hometown. I had no absolutely no idea that Sioux Falls functioned as a divorce colony in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While I would have liked a bit more contextualization about women’s rights and marginalized populations in the period, I’m glad that this book helps to account for some lost narratives.
While I would have liked a bit more contextualization about women’s rights and marginalized populations in the period, I’m glad that this book helps to account for some lost narratives.
Read
March 15, 2024DNFed @ 30%
This just doesn't feel like it's going to be what I expected or worth my time.
This just doesn't feel like it's going to be what I expected or worth my time.
November 18, 2022
Really interesting read. As a citizen of South Dakota, I never had heard about this and it was so cool to read about.
October 13, 2022
One strength of this non-fiction examination of divorce in the Victorian era is the way it categorizes divorce as an important aspect of marriage rights. While it's easier to see the appeal in advocating for more wedding freedoms, divorces can be just as joyful and usher in much-needed freedom for the parties involved. This book particularly focuses on how women have used divorce to evade spouses who bring them unhappiness, seeking an independence that could be worth the social downfall of being a divorcee.
A century ago, each state had its own divorce laws of varying stringency with New York's among the most strict. For that reason, socialites learned to go further afield for a divorce to states with broader grounds for dissolving unwanted marriages. South Dakota became a prime destination for divorce-seekers because among its lenient requirements was a relatively easy process for claiming residency and making use of their courts. After only 3-6 months of living in South Dakota (depending on the year and laws in question), a woman could avail herself of the courts and plead her case with minimal fuss. That didn't stop reporters from hounding well-known ladies in Sioux Falls for the details of their stays and digging through court records for sensational claims worthy of publication, drawing notoriety to the town as a bastion of immoral ladies fleeing their duties to family and husband. The author organizes around four well-known cases in the 1890s-1900s that garnered contemporary public attention. This approach allows for detailed vignettes that are easy to follow and engage with on a personal level. It also provides an opportunity to track the different circumstances that could draw women to South Dakota and the way shifting opinions and political machinations around divorce crossed the two decades.
The author is upfront that the focus of the book is on wealthy white women because they were the ones who could afford to use this legal loophole to get a divorce denied them elsewhere. It required a woman to relocate for the period required by residency laws and hire legal representation, a booming industry in Sioux Falls. In addition to these expenses, a woman needed safeguards that come with wealth, fame, and/or family connections to survive the dent in her reputation. It's still a story of subversion, even when it was not intended that way by the women in question and when they were otherwise the image of privilege and status quo. The author is skillful in showing the particulars of each woman's situation and the broader implications for how society was reacting to a general rise in divorce and a specific influx of divorce "colonists" in South Dakota while waiting to file.
While I appreciate the author's awareness in noting the narrow lens of her study and identifying the shared social characteristics of her main subjects, she's naturally going to touch on the lives of more marginalized groups in some fashion. And I wasn't satisfied by her perfunctory, nearly avoidant approach to any conversation around colonialism in particular. Any mentions of South Dakota's history will necessarily bring in a discussion of Indigenous peoples. In this case, the Sioux are the most discussed (still barely mentioned). The author skates past a conversation about how South Dakota came to be incorporated as a state and offers a breezy mention of missionary work to teach Indigenous peoples "proper" behavior. The author is careful to phrase things in a way that doesn't lend support to white supremacy and colonialist behaviors, but it's not addressed outright in any particular way. A profligate missionary based in South Dakota is often quoted and discussed as an antagonist of divorce, but this is presented hand-in-hand with descriptions of his role as a respected pillar of society. Not even willing to take a stance about his controlling views of marriage, the author is even less prepared to comment on the inherent problems in his other churchly endeavors to educate girls and bring "civilization" to people of color.
For what it is, this book gives an excellent view of a particular time and place in divorce legal proceedings with a clear, human angle. The acknowledged narrow topic of the book is made all the starker by flinching away from clear, upfront conversations about intersectionality and power dynamics. This would have added depth and dimension to an otherwise smooth surface reflecting exclusively white women's experiences. Thanks to Hachette for my copy to read and review!
A century ago, each state had its own divorce laws of varying stringency with New York's among the most strict. For that reason, socialites learned to go further afield for a divorce to states with broader grounds for dissolving unwanted marriages. South Dakota became a prime destination for divorce-seekers because among its lenient requirements was a relatively easy process for claiming residency and making use of their courts. After only 3-6 months of living in South Dakota (depending on the year and laws in question), a woman could avail herself of the courts and plead her case with minimal fuss. That didn't stop reporters from hounding well-known ladies in Sioux Falls for the details of their stays and digging through court records for sensational claims worthy of publication, drawing notoriety to the town as a bastion of immoral ladies fleeing their duties to family and husband. The author organizes around four well-known cases in the 1890s-1900s that garnered contemporary public attention. This approach allows for detailed vignettes that are easy to follow and engage with on a personal level. It also provides an opportunity to track the different circumstances that could draw women to South Dakota and the way shifting opinions and political machinations around divorce crossed the two decades.
The author is upfront that the focus of the book is on wealthy white women because they were the ones who could afford to use this legal loophole to get a divorce denied them elsewhere. It required a woman to relocate for the period required by residency laws and hire legal representation, a booming industry in Sioux Falls. In addition to these expenses, a woman needed safeguards that come with wealth, fame, and/or family connections to survive the dent in her reputation. It's still a story of subversion, even when it was not intended that way by the women in question and when they were otherwise the image of privilege and status quo. The author is skillful in showing the particulars of each woman's situation and the broader implications for how society was reacting to a general rise in divorce and a specific influx of divorce "colonists" in South Dakota while waiting to file.
While I appreciate the author's awareness in noting the narrow lens of her study and identifying the shared social characteristics of her main subjects, she's naturally going to touch on the lives of more marginalized groups in some fashion. And I wasn't satisfied by her perfunctory, nearly avoidant approach to any conversation around colonialism in particular. Any mentions of South Dakota's history will necessarily bring in a discussion of Indigenous peoples. In this case, the Sioux are the most discussed (still barely mentioned). The author skates past a conversation about how South Dakota came to be incorporated as a state and offers a breezy mention of missionary work to teach Indigenous peoples "proper" behavior. The author is careful to phrase things in a way that doesn't lend support to white supremacy and colonialist behaviors, but it's not addressed outright in any particular way. A profligate missionary based in South Dakota is often quoted and discussed as an antagonist of divorce, but this is presented hand-in-hand with descriptions of his role as a respected pillar of society. Not even willing to take a stance about his controlling views of marriage, the author is even less prepared to comment on the inherent problems in his other churchly endeavors to educate girls and bring "civilization" to people of color.
For what it is, this book gives an excellent view of a particular time and place in divorce legal proceedings with a clear, human angle. The acknowledged narrow topic of the book is made all the starker by flinching away from clear, upfront conversations about intersectionality and power dynamics. This would have added depth and dimension to an otherwise smooth surface reflecting exclusively white women's experiences. Thanks to Hachette for my copy to read and review!
January 25, 2022
Thank you for another Goodreads giveaway. Non-fiction that flows. Who knew Sioux Falls, South Dakota caused so much controversy by allowing people to get divorced. Who knew New York state was the last to become a "no fault" state in 2010. Much hardship, scandal and financial ruin follows divorce. Only the lawyers win.
July 4, 2022
Interesting topics and liked the authors explanation at the end (I listened on audible). She pointed out the differences in endnotes between the book and audible. I’d be interested to now see the book. It was hard for me to follow the people and dates while listening and multitasking. I liked what I heard on the high level but wish I could have gotten into the characters more. The author pointed out that there were 4 main stories at the end of the book, which I think I did follow, but so many other subplots lost me along the way.
March 5, 2024
don’t get me wrong… suuuuper interesting info on divorce in the US and some of the trailblazing women fighting for their independence from husbands, regardless how ridiculous the means for them to get it. the storytelling just wasn’t where it needed to be. i feel like the timeline jumped around a lot and i found myself confused + the material was very dense
September 5, 2023
I received this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway.
I began reading The Divorce Colony about 3 weeks before I got divorced. The timing was an unintentional but humorous coincidence. It took me nearly a year to read it but that’s due to life and not the book.
I had always known of Reno being a location for quickie divorces but I had never heard of Sioux Falls serving as a similar epicenter during the Gilded Age. April White weaves the story of The Divorce Colony through the experiences of several women, some names more famous than others. It was interesting to juxtapose their experiences with my own.
The book was clear and concise and, overall, an easy and interesting read. It is a niche historical subject but the tie-in to current divorce laws and how late some of the states caught up with societal norms mirrors current day arguments in other arenas.
I do think a little more information on the different state laws on divorce and how they changed over time would have been a interesting addition to the epilogue. Even maybe just a chart of some sort with very basic notes would have satiated my curiosity but that wasn’t the focus of the book and it’s omission does not detract from it. I’m just curious, which is also the sign of a good read.
I began reading The Divorce Colony about 3 weeks before I got divorced. The timing was an unintentional but humorous coincidence. It took me nearly a year to read it but that’s due to life and not the book.
I had always known of Reno being a location for quickie divorces but I had never heard of Sioux Falls serving as a similar epicenter during the Gilded Age. April White weaves the story of The Divorce Colony through the experiences of several women, some names more famous than others. It was interesting to juxtapose their experiences with my own.
The book was clear and concise and, overall, an easy and interesting read. It is a niche historical subject but the tie-in to current divorce laws and how late some of the states caught up with societal norms mirrors current day arguments in other arenas.
I do think a little more information on the different state laws on divorce and how they changed over time would have been a interesting addition to the epilogue. Even maybe just a chart of some sort with very basic notes would have satiated my curiosity but that wasn’t the focus of the book and it’s omission does not detract from it. I’m just curious, which is also the sign of a good read.
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