The Great Read: A Revelation Tore Apart Her Fairy-Tale Marriage, and Shocked the Nation
Rhinelander v. Rhinelander was one of the most scandalous trials of the Jazz Age. 100 years later, it reads as a tragedy about the country’s original sin.
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The Great Read

December 17, 2025, 2:00 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

In a black-and-white image, a woman in a fur-trimmed cloth coat sits in a wood-paneled room. On either side of her sit women in fur coats. All have short 1920s-style bob haircuts and wear cloche hats.

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A Revelation Tore Apart Her Fairy-Tale Marriage, and Shocked the Nation

Rhinelander v. Rhinelander was one of the most scandalous trials of the Jazz Age. 100 years later, it reads as a tragedy about the country’s original sin.

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