THE DIVORCE COLONY

An engaging portrait of a little-known time in American history when the phrase going to Sioux Falls was synonymous with divorce and select women had the rare opportunity to control their own destinies.

In this absorbing, thoroughly researched account, White, a senior editor at Atlas Obscura and former editor at Smithsonian magazine, puts readers directly into the lives of four inspirational women in late-19th-century America. At a time when states determined their own divorce laws—and when it was often impossible for women to advocate for themselves—Sioux Falls, South Dakota, offered a chance for them to reclaim their freedom. They need only live in the frontier city for 90 days to establish themselves as residents, and then they were free to file for divorce and potentially unbind themselves from their partners, many of whom were ill-tempered, philandering, abusive, or even murderous. Husbands and wives weren’t always at odds, however, as some colluded on the matter and worked toward a mutually beneficial end to their marriages. Interwoven with the biographical information about the women are in-depth examinations of what society, the church, and political figures felt about the Sioux Falls loophole and the increasing number of broken marriages, and White shows how those opinions factored into the creation of divorce laws throughout the U.S. Leaders of both church and state, writes the author “would attack this scourge with religious condemnation, legal obstacles and expense, new legislative restrictions, and the threat of ostracism.” Particularly interesting are the opinions of suffragists of the day. What might seem to be a given—that women’s rights activists would support fewer barriers to divorce—is in fact more problematic, as the author demonstrates. Other delightful insights include the women’s various levels of commitment to the residency ruse. As always, divorce was easier for those with money and status.

White effectively humanizes her subjects while remaining faithful to telling nothing but the fascinating truth.