Arcadia in Avernus

"Arcadia in Avernus" is a novella from the early 1900s that tells the story of an unhappy wife who leaves her marriage of convenience to start a new life with another man on the Dakota prairie. The couple's new life seems to be going well until the woman's ex-husband shows up unexpectedly, throwing their happiness into disarray. Despite being written over a century ago, the story has a surprisingly modern feel to it. It is part of a collection of short stories by the author Will Lillibridge, titled A Breath of Prairie, and offers a glimpse into life on the American frontier during the early 1900s.