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| Author: Nancy Horan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $11.20
You Save: $2.80 (20%)
Rating:  209 reviews
Sales Rank: 104
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0345495004
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780345495006
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 The compelling tale of The Other Woman October 22, 2007
43 out of 59 found this review helpful
It happens every day: two individuals fall in love, though each is married to another. Secrets are discovered, lives change, families are broken apart. But when one of the two is a local celebrity, the affair also makes daily headlines. What must Life be like when you are true to your heart, but the whole world seems to be conspiring against you and your partner? Why must your every move be broadcast to the American public?
This fictionalized account -- for we'll never know the complete real-life particulars -- documents the relationship of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Mamah is a dutiful wife and mother of two, a University of Michigan graduate and a socially active and intelligent woman. When she and her husband decide to build their own house in Oak Park, Illinois, they hire local architect Frank Wright to design their prairie-style home. In the process, Mamah and Frank begin to spend time together, sharing meaningful conversations that turn into something quite different. Frank is married and has six children of his own, and his wife refuses to grant him a divorce. The two lovers travel to Europe and eventually return to settle down near Wright's first home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. While Frank focuses on architecture, Mamah writes and translates Swedish feminist philosophy into American English. They see their children from time to time. Discounting some financial difficulties, they seem to have created an idyllic existence together. For a time.
I toured the Taliesin grounds (but not the residence) in Wisconsin, in the late 1990s. I vaguely remember being told about what happened there in 1914, but only in general terms. It's such a beautiful place -- too restful to be associated with such a horrible tragedy. Now that I have read "Loving Frank," I'd like to go back. That trip will be more contemplative than my initial visit was.
This is a powerful story, told in satisfying prose. Portions of this book will stay with me forever. Thank you, Ms. Horan, for your diligence in researching the details of this story and sharing them so astutely with us. We surely look forward to your next assignment!
Wonderful fictional story about an amazing love affair September 1, 2007
23 out of 50 found this review helpful
I have to first admit that aside from admiring his architecture, I know pretty much nothing about Frank Lloyd Wright. Keeping in mind that this is a fictional account of a true story, the love story between FLW and Mamah was very intriguing, and encouraged me to do a little more factual reading about the pair (with very little written about her at all!). True this story is primarily about Mamah, with FLW being a secondary and rather one-dimensional character. In fact, the story inspired me more as being about a turn-of-the-century woman at the verge of the women's movement and her confused and rather unconventional journey. The ending was rather shocking and left me reeling for a bit, furiously doing outside research on the events discussed. I had to give it four stars only because I felt that parts of it dragged a bit, especially at the beginning, and I almost stopped reading it.
TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK... February 5, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Frank Lloyd Wright was, and is, considered by many to be an architectural visionary. His Prarie homes were organic in nature and designed to blend into the landscape rather than compete with it.
Frank himself could hardly be considered as a man who "blended into the landscape" and his unconventional affair with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, a married woman with two children, resulted in tragedy both personal and professional
Author Nancy Horan's historical novel takes you into the lives and minds of this unusual couple and explores their relationship and its effect the people who loved them as well as those on the periphery of their passion.
We are drawn into the inner thoughts of Mameh, an accomplished woman in her own right.....college graduate, fluent in several languages.....and her attempt to "stop standing on the side of life watching it float by" and instead "swim in the river and feel it's current". In an era when women were expected to quash any desire for personal growth and "act happy", Mameh's personal conflict forced her to make choices that provided temporary satisfaction, but were ultimately disasterous.
Could it be that you, like me, will become so consumed by Horan's vivid portrayal of this couple that you will find yourself searching the internet for more information about "what happened after" Horan's tale ends.
Will Become One of my All Time Favorite Books August 19, 2007
17 out of 24 found this review helpful
I bought this book not knowing much about FLW and knowing nothing about his affair with Mamah Cheney. I was instantly riveted to this story of love, scandal, and genius.
I could not stop reading it and had to finish it before I could do anything else once I started it. This story will haunt you forever.
Very well written and, though it is a novel, you can tell how well-researched and true to life it is.
I LOVED this book.
A work of fiction based on a real event in Frank Lloyd Wright's life and marriage September 4, 2007
17 out of 24 found this review helpful
Because this is a novel, the reader can take for granted that plenty of the details are imagined, as the author could not possibly have been privy to the conversations or situations described here, not to the extent portrayed. But I urge readers NOT to be put off by the fact that this is fiction because it is clear that the author did her research. I found this book to be very interesting, very well written and it revealed a part of Wright's life I hadn't really known about.
Mamah Borthwick Cheney was a married woman who had an affair with Wright, also married at the time. She is credited (if "credit" is the right word) with destroying his first marriage. Anyone expecting to pick up this book and sink into an epic love story should be forewarned - this is NOT the stuff of dreamy romance novels, but the hard, gritty reality of an affair during a time when women weren't expected to break the bonds of convention. It also isn't an easy read at times, as it has some slow passages, which is the main reason I gave it a 4 rating instead of a 5.
Here is the reality behind the fiction: Cheney met Wright when she and her husband commissioned the architect to design a house for them. This is not an airy or stereotypical romance but a portrayal of an independent, educated woman at odds with the restrictions of the early 20th century. Frank and Mamah, both married and with children, met when Mamah's husband, Edwin, commissioned Frank to design a house.
This is what the book focuses on, the affair between the two. But I think there is information potential readers need, information that helps to put things in deeper perspective and perhaps lend a backstory to the events.
For one thing, Wright's own father, a minister, had divorced his wife, citing alienation of affection even though SHE was the one who'd asked him to leave, according to many accounts. I think family history is important, often a key component in shaping one's life, depending on how events are interpreted, the trauma that may be endured and the legacy of pain or resilience left in its wake.
So I'm noting that Wright came from a family that was troubled, had a long history of marital tension before the divorce (his father struggled to make a living). Who knows what part this played in Frank Lloyd Wright's history of flirtations, long before he met Cheney? All of these factors - the divorce within his family, Wright's reputation as a flirt (some say a womanizer) and the fact that he already had 6 children which took up most of his wife's attention may have played pivotal roles in the affair itself. It is certainly important background info.
The author writes very well (most of the time) about the affair itself and events that were considered scandalous, even making headlines: how Wright and Cheney left their families, lived together, traveled overseas and more.
There is more I want to tell but if I do I will absolutely ruin the book for readers who don't know the whole story or haven't heard the complete tale of this affair. The book leads up to stunning event and I don't feel I should spoil the book by revealing more.
I will say that if you are the sort of reader who likes nice, neat and happy endings or romances, then you may feel let down at the end. I was fascinated by the whole saga. This is a major and epic novel, kept from being absolutely superb, in my opinion, by a few pacing issues. Even so, I'd recommend it for the strengths that shine through and for revealing a major episode in the noted architect's life. I'd definitely buy another book by this author, someone I expect to get better as she continues to write. She already has so much talent!
I'd also suggest readers do some research AFTER reading the book if they are interested in Wright's complete life story. If you do too much research beforehand, you'll find out what happens in this book and that may take away from the suspense.
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