In the 1950s, getting a divorce was not unheard of — and nor was it a simple feat. In Nevada, the law was a little more lenient than elsewhere in the country — which made it the perfect state for so-called divorce ranches to spring up. The Golden Yarrow is one such ranch, and sits squarely at the center of Rowan Beaird’s new novel, The Divorcées. Here, she shares a little more about the genesis of her novel. Read below and then check out the full Page & Pairing guide to The Divorcées.
The Divorcées
by Rowan Beaird
“The idea for The Divorcées came to me in a graveyard of neon signs on the outskirts of Las Vegas. On a tour of the Neon Museum, our guide mentioned offhand that Vegas was famously where you got married, and Reno was where you got divorced. At that point I was unaware of Reno’s history, but quickly learned that beginning in 1931, it became the “divorce capital of the world” due to its lax laws. Women traveled to establish residency for a required six weeks, often staying in ranches catering to their every want and need, and then began their new lives.
“I became obsessed with this period at first because of its glamour — movie stars like Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner traveled to Reno, spending their days riding horses and their nights gambling at casinos — but the more research I did, the darker the women’s stories became. In the early 1950s, when The Divorcées is set, being a divorcée made you an outcast. I wanted to explore the dramatic potential of a group of women under one roof during a period of intense transition and crisis, when so much of what lay beyond the ranch was a complete unknown.”