Nancy Horan tells a tale that is a delicately
balanced blend of fact and fiction. She gives life to two
prominent real-life characters, Frank Lloyd Wright and
Mamah Cheney. Theirs was a publicly sensationalized
romance, yet little substantive content is found in
historical records about the true nature and endurance of
their famed affair.
Strong-minded, independent and intelligent people, Wright
and Cheney were not devoid of emotion, as the press of the
time insinuated. They were not immune to being driven by
powerful emotional needs. As willful intellectuals, they
were both searching for meaning in their lives, above and
beyond their roles of spouse and parent, and they found the
motivation and understanding they were seeking in the
company of each other. They were like-minded individuals
who had a mutual respect for each other, because they each
strived to be successful and make a difference in the
world. They recognized in each other the desire to be true
to one's own self and the desire to do the right thing.
Ironically, this became the barrier to the true happiness
they sought with each other.
Horan's extensive research is evident in her detailed
descriptions of the worldly locations the amorous couple
visited. Horan's use of dialogue and character development
brings to light the thoughts, feelings, frustrations and
fear that must have been experienced by these two real-life
historically significant individuals. Horan is able to
convey the plethora of emotion that must have plagued Mamah
Cheney as she struggled to "do good" on the grand scale
with regard to the women's movement, while remaining true
to herself as an independent intellectual woman and
managing the guilt of leaving her children to explore the
love of her life, which came along too late in her life.
Though many issues differ, most remain very real and very
timely for independent women in 2007. LOVING FRANK is a
well-written, emotionally powerful, intelligent and
enveloping book.
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 develops between Mamah and
Frank, and in time, the lovers, each married with children,
embark on a course that will shock Chicago society and
forever change their lives.
In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend
together brilliantly in the extraordinary story of Mamah
Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright. While scholars in
the past have considered Mamah a footnote in the study of
America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan brings to
life their dramatic love story, and illuminates Cheney’s
profound influence on Wright.
Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known
facts into a compelling narrative, and vividly portrays the
conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between
the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual; a woman
seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in
the world. It is an unforgettable journey marked by choices
that reshape Mamah’s notions of love and responsibility,
and ultimately lead to the book’s stunning conclusion.
Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving
Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a
national icon, and a timeless love.
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