Amazon.com Amazon Significant Seven, August 2007: It's a rare treasure to find a historically imagined novel that is at once fully versed in the facts and unafraid of weaving those truths into a story that dares to explore the unanswered questions. Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney's love story is--as many early reviews of Loving Frank have noted--little-known and often dismissed as scandal. In Nancy Horan's skillful hands, however, what you get is two fully realized people, entirely, irrepressibly, in love. Together, Frank and Mamah are a wholly modern portrait, and while you can easily imagine them in the here and now, it's their presence in the world of early 20th century America that shades how authentic and, ultimately, tragic their story is. Mamah's bright, earnest spirit is particularly tender in the context of her time and place, which afforded her little opportunity to realize the intellectual life for which she yearned. Loving Frank is a remarkable literary achievement, tenderly acute and even-handed in even the most heartbreaking moments, and an auspicious debut from a writer to watch. --Anne Bartholomew
Product Description 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 ambitious debut 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 Cheney’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. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion.
Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story.
Advance praise for Loving Frank:
“Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.” –Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light
“This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.” ——Scott Turow
“It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.” ——Jane Hamilton
“I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ll ever leave.” –Elizabeth Berg
Don't miss this true story.August 27, 2008 I read this book for a book club that I am in. It is very well written and a real page turner. It is a novel but the reader will feel that it is 100% true. The only thing the reader needs to watch out for is I became so interested in the characters and I Googled them. It spoiled the story for me because I knew exactly what happened at the end. It is fiction but very well researched and not to be missed.
Such a DISAPPOINTMENT!!August 27, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book came highly recommended and from all the reviews, many have enjoyed it. Maybe it was all the hype that set such an unattainable benchmark, but I think it was the story itself that failed for me. As a woman, a wife and a mother - most especially a MOTHER, I had such a difficult time relating to Mameh. I just couldn't fathom the choices she made and in the manner in which she chose to excuted them. Her utter disregard for her responsibility to her children was absolutely disgusting!!! This book was such a waste of time.
Intriguing but not a favoriteAugust 25, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Loving Frank was interesting and a page turner, but I found myself wondering why she didn't find some work of her own where she didn't have to be so dependant on him. I guess it was a bit too much feeling sorry for themselves instead of trying to build their life back together ina more productive way. I have to say that I couldn't put it down and it was well written, just not too inspiring for me.
Choices and consequencesAugust 25, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan is, in its simplest form, about a woman with deep emotional struggles set in the backdrop of the early nineteen hundreds. But this novel is anything but simple. This is the story of Mamah Borthwick Cheney who had to make tough choices in an effort to follow what her heart was feeling and about the high price she had to pay.
At this point I needn't tell you that this story isn't about the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, but about the sordid details of the affair and the way the tabloid blew this relationship way out of proportion. It's funny when you think about it, really. Today, nearly one hundred years after the event the media still craves the blood of celebrities who make similar decisions.
If there is anything bad to say about this novel (and I'm reaching here) is the book takes a few chapters to get the steam engine going. Bud like I said, that's really stretching. Nancy Horan does an exquisite job in bringing this story to life. You'll find yourself sympathizing with Mamah Borthwick Cheney as her love for Mr. Wright tears apart this seemingly love stricken woman. From the inspiring choice by one family and the consequences that resulted this is a must read for all fans of true love.
I'd also recommend reading the Amazon exclusive novel: Fates by Georgiou, Tino Fates (2nd Edition)
Compelling, passionateAugust 24, 2008 I have been an admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright and his works for over 20 years and have toured a number of his homes in Wisconsin and Illinois. I have also read accounts of his life including brief details about his relationship with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. For me, this novel portrays a realistic picture of Mamah, a woman quite ahead of her times, and the compelling and passionate reasons that pulled she and Wright together. The novel gives a loving account of the deep love and admiration they had for each other. Nancy Horan gives the reader a gentle and believable story of the intimate moments of their lives together, portrayed in their times as so "scandalous" and "tawdry." This book is truly a loving dedication to both Borthwick and Wright.
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