I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, ...
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I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this groundbreaking historical novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America's greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Mamah's profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan's Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world, and her unforgettable journey, marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leads inexorably to this novel's stunning conclusion.
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Add this copy of Loving Frank to cart. $25.00, like new condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2013 by Brilliance Corporation.
THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY INTERESTING BOOK REVIEWING A PART OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S LIFE. I WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND IT TO MY FRIENDS AND ALREADY HAVE DONE SO. YOU GET SO INVOLVED IN THEIR LIVES THAT YOU CAN'T PUT IT DOWN FOR A MINUTE.
leeandrosie54@comcast.net
Nov 5, 2009
The Unknown Frank Lloyd Wright
This was a fascinating book.... a real page turner.
The book describes an early part of Wright's life that the current Wright fans probably never knew about.
I couldn't put it down,
raineandroses
Jun 15, 2009
What I didn't know about Frank Lloyd Wright
This story presented many questions.
How fascinating could a man be for a woman to leave her children with a friend in another state who has just given birth while she takes off for an extended stay in Europe to be with her lover?
Why would you marry a man you are not in love with and then have two children by him?
How could you be friendly with a woman entering her home while you're having an affair with her husband?
Was this really about feminism as many have pointed out?
Was it the celebrity quality of Frank Lloyd Wright, his ego, or his talent or all three which fascinated so many women and drew them to him?
Why did Frank think people owed him?
The ending was a big surprise.
For those of us who hold Frank Lloyd Wright to be the icon of American architecture that he is, this was a personal look that I had no reference to before I read this book.
Paula888
Jan 11, 2009
Two Visionaries
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan is a work of historical fiction set in the early 1900s that explores female roles in society and the feminist movement. Frank Lloyd Wright is an icon in arthitecture known for his unique vision of marrying nature and structure. His visionary ideals did not stop there and he threw society's mores to the wind by embarking on a love affair. Mamah Cheney joined Frank in leaving her family to explore their vision of love. This book paints a possible portrait of their transcontinental affair with romance, love and career. She gained opportunities to translate works in the feminist movement and became a bit of a female revolutionary herself. Nancy Horan wrote a thought-provoking book exploring the choices made by those who challenge the status quo and the consequences to both society and the individuals.
donna
Sep 30, 2008
A Woman Torn
Mamah was a married woman with 2 children when her husband commissions Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for them. Although her husband is reliable and considerate, he cannot compete with the excitement and genius of Wright. They soon embarked upon an affair that leads to the break up of two familes and an ending of tragic proportions. Well written and interesting tale of a passion that the participants thought was beyond their control but turned out to be bittersweet.
