Encore

Divorce Gilded Age Style (coming 11/10/26)

Then as now, sometimes a marriage encounters problems and the only alternative can be divorce. A divorce in the Gilded Age carried strong social stigma and could be far more socially destructive for a woman than for a man.  In this ENCORE episode, one of the most discussed in the Gilded Gentleman back catalog, historian and professor emerita Nancy Unger delves deeply into the issues and repercussions of divorce in the Gilded Age, along with sharing stories of a few famous divorce cases of the 19th century that included members of the Astor and Vanderbilt families. 

Alva Vanderbilt famously divorced in 1895