Loving Frank: A Novel
by Nancy Horan
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Book Reviews of Loving Frank: A Novel
Book Review: Love, Architecture and Tragedy Feed Into an Involving Pre-WWI Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
Not only has the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright been the subject of intense scrutiny but also his colorful personal life, in particular, the failure of his first two marriages and the deliberate acts of arson and murder at his Taliesin studio in 1914. First-time novelist Nancy Horan has captured just one extended episode in Wright's long, checkered life and written a terrifically engaging piece of historical fiction. Set in the years before World War I, it is fundamentally a love story between the married Wright and the wife of a client for whom he was designing one of his signature prairie houses in Oak Park. The woman was a real figure long forgotten, and her name was Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Their affair scandalized Chicago society, as both abruptly left their spouses and children in 1909 to live in Europe together. She more than he faced the judgment of an unforgiving public, and in response, she was racked with guilt. The irony is that Mamah's husband Edwin Cheney fully accepted the situation and granted her a divorce with unencumbered access to their children.
Wright, on the other hand, faced resistance from his wife Catherine who adamantly refused to divorce him. Horan handles all this potentially sensationalistic material with a minimum of melodramatic flourish, and the story evolves into the personal journey of a couple who realize they have reached a point of no return. Their co-existence becomes so insulated from the outside world that they start to view themselves as idealists who rationalize their illicit actions through dedication to their individual endeavors. Wright's career, as we all know, continues to thrive thanks to his innate brilliance, while Mamah finds the precursor to a life coach in Swedish suffragist Ellen Key. Key's proto-feminist rhetoric about the constrictions of marriage sparks Mamah to embrace her mentor's singular belief that true love trumps quotidian obligation. The couple eventually returns to America where Wright builds his famous summer home in Wisconsin, Taliesin, in the hope of shielding themselves from censure. This is where Horan lets the drama of the actual events unfold and propel the narrative.
It turns out that Key influenced Taliesin and also went through a personal transformation that allowed her to reverse her steadfast position and become a champion of motherhood. As the more elliptical figure, Mamah undergoes her own personal metamorphosis, which feels surprisingly contemporary in that author's approach. Without conveying any of her own personal judgment, Horan dares to expose a woman who made the socially unacceptable decision of allowing her self-expression take priority over her obligations as a mother. The problem Key tried to articulate in her philosophy could not be realized by Mamah without a major sacrifice, and there hasn't been that significant change in thinking a century later. Above all else, Horan is able to provide human dimension to the relationship between the lovers that touches on their own passions with unforced ease. Her book may not have the scope of E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime or even Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, two panoramic pieces of historical fiction set at the beginning of the 20th century, but I think she matches them in the vividness of the detail presented and in the immediacy of the characters' emotions.
Book Review: The Art of Living
Summary: 4 Stars
This book immediately drew me because of its association with the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, along with another novel by TC Boyle entitled The Women. But while Boyle's book covers all of the women in Wright's life, Horan's focuses on arguably the most intriguing, and certainly the most infamous.
Loving Frank is about the controversial affair Wright had with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, the wife of one of Wright's Oak Park clients. The affair starts with the typical emotional commiserations and secret trysts. But soon the affair escalates when the lovers flee their families to Europe. They eventually return to the Wisconsin love nest that would become forever known as Taliesin, and then, as anyone familiar with Wright's history knows, run smack into tragedy. The story is told from Mamah's perspective- Wright is a supporting actor until the very end - thus we are witness to her inner emotions and the motivations that compel her to leave her husband and children for this man. Indeed, as the title betrays, the novel portrays her love for Wright and the consequences of that love. This is historical fact. But why does she love him?
This also isn't too difficult to figure out once we know just a tiny sliver of Mamah. She's an intellectual woman at a time when women were mostly relegated to running households and rearing children. In fact, as the story begins, that's exactly what she's doing, despite her intellectual pedigree and feminist bent. Thus her meeting of Wright, a rising and brilliant architect with a hunger to not just make buildings but to blow up and rebuild the art form, seems to have been pre-ordained to turn into a love affair. As we watch the relationship unfold, we root for her because we can almost feel the pull of it ourselves. Today such a life re-boot is common, so seems reasonable enough to our modern sensibilities, though we are reminded how controversial this sort of thing was in those days by the press onslaught, as well as the withdrawal of some of Mamah's closest confidants. But it's not her falling in love with Frank that makes her an intriguing character. Nor is it the irresistible urge to re-make herself through the strength and encouragement of their intellectual camaraderie. It's the abandonment of her two small children, John and Martha, that throws doubt into our minds. We are running along with her, having a great time, not thinking about the children very much, as she isn't, until she starts to recognize the consequences for them, and that's when things become real interesting. It's then, when she's too far gone to change what she's done and has to figure out what her new life will be that the story can fully breathe.
Horan's writing is strong and her storytelling competent. She always seems to hit the right notes at the right times and ably pulls us along for the ride. Mamah is a great, complicated character. Horan's portrayal of Wright seems a little buffoonish at times; at others he seems too level-headed and kind. But what bleeds through is enough to make us wonder whether or not he's worthy of Mamah's sacrifices. And Horan rounds him out wonderfully when the viewpoint shifts to his at the end. The only minor criticism I have is the light lead-up to the tragedy, though perhaps that was intentional to portray the random and cruel nature of the event. Overall, this is a worthy read, especially for anyone interested in Wright, or in the art of living.
Book Review: Bringing to life the forgotten story of a strong, compelling woman
Summary: 4 Stars
Loving Frank follows the story and love affair between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. When they were both living in Oak Park, IL (a suburb of Chicago) Wright met Mamah while building a house for her and her family (which included a husband and two children). They fell in love and set the stage for one of the most scandalous love affairs of the turn of the century. Mamah left her family to follow Wright to Germany, and Wright left his wife and six kids to have a relationship with Mamah as well. The press were all over their affair, likening Mamah to the Whore of Babylon and Mrs. Wright the angelic victim who never lost faith in her husband.
This book tells the story from Mamah's point of view, and paints a strong woman in search of herself and her place in the world. While both of their actions were incredibly selfish in respect to their families, the book goes to lengths to describe what they meant to each other, spouting Ellen Key's philosophies of the importance of not sacrificing yourself to a loveless marriage. Mamah is a very intelligent woman, who set herself up as a translator of the same Ellen Key's works for America and went through the world with her eyes wide open. The character portrayed by Horan acknowledges the fact that Mamah knew what she was doing to her kids, and Wright's kids, but that she really believed she was doing the right thing for them all long term. Reading this book I was able to understand the point of view of the 'other woman', even though I don't necessarily agree with her actions.
This book is a wonderful glimpse into Chicago in the early 1900s and a good characterization of Frank Lloyd Wright. It also sheds light on Mamah, who in the passage of time has become more of a caricature than a real person. I highly recommend it to all historical fiction fans and lovers of Wright's amazing architecture.
Chicago in Wright's Time:
Frank Lloyd Wright spent the first 20 years of his 70-year career in Oak Park,IL building numerous homes in the community, including his own. He lived and worked in the area between 1889 and 1909. One can find Wright's earliest work there, like the Winslow House in neighboring River Forest, Illinois. There are also examples of the first prairie-style houses in Oak Park. He also designed Unity Temple, a Unitarian church, which was built between 1905 and 1908. Oak Park had just become its own city in 1902, and was vastly underdeveloped at the time of Wright's residence, surrounded by a prairie, which probably served as the inspiration for Wright's Prairie School of architecture. All of Wright's houses that he built in Oak Park still stand, and most of them are still lived in. If you ever take a trip to Chicago, go a little further west to Oak Park to see these houses, and Wright's home and studio, which has been modified into a museum. A must see for any lover of architecture.
About the Author:
Nancy Horan is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications. Loving Frank is her first novel. She lived most of her life in Oak Park, IL, until her recent move to an island in Puget Sound. She was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction in 2009.
Similar books to consider:
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
Book Review: Loving Frank: Wondering What is Left For Me to Love
Summary: 3 Stars
Nancy Horan's first novel "Loving Frank" details the period of his life when he leaves his wife for one of his clients, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Per Horan's intention, the star of the book is really Mamah. During the time period of this book, the early 1900s, she is ahead of her time in terms of her views on motherhood, women's right and woman working. But as much as she must have challenged the people who lived alongside her, she challenged me, the reader.
I agree with Mamah (and Frank Lloyd Wright) that no woman can be defined solely by motherhood or by being a wife. I am grateful that my choice not to start popping out babies has not turned me into some outcast. (Not enough progress has been made on this front, though. I am challenged to defend this perspective regularly and frequently met with "Oh, you'll change your mind.")
I agree with the notion that you do your children no favors by staying in an unhappy marriage / job / life. All that results from doing so is teaching them that being unhappy is okay and they they too should strive for such discontent in their own lives. We do much better by trying to attain happiness and fulfillment.
Where I struggled with this book is that I found both Mamah and Frank Lloyd Wright, particularly Wright, so unlikeable.
While it is okay to teach your children not to settle for average but instead to strive for success, there are some responsibilities you have to them as your parents. In "Loving Frank", Horan details all of the irresponsibilities of Frank Lloyd Wright. He leaves his wife and six children to travel to Europe and have an affair. He doesn't pay his employees, particularly the young architects who need the money more than anyone. He alternates by giving women chance in architecture and shooting them down as mere draftsman. What is there for the reader to like about him? Is his only redeeming quality the collection of buildings he left behind? Because that leaves me liking his talent but still not the man.
I felt similarly about Mamah. I am happy she had the courage to go out and succeed in life, independently of her husband. I am happy she did not settle to be a stay-at-home mom if that dud not give her pleasure. But isn't part of being a responsible adult owning up to the choices you make and acting responsibly about them? Horan writes of Mamah leaving her kids to go to Europe and being grateful to her sister for watching the children. But not once do we read of Mamah portrayed asking her sister to watch the children. I know that sometimes things happen without a lot of forethought, even things like children. But it's hard for me to accept the idea that it is okay to make children and to just leave them. Or more difficult for me to digest, to leave the children but assume that you have an open ticket to go back and reclaim them at any time.
I'm pleased that I completed reading "Loving Frank" and I do feel like I have better insight into Frank Lloyd Wright after having read it. I just wished I felt more love for him at the end of the story.
Book Review: Loving Frank Could Be Called, The Untold Story of Mamah Borthwick
Summary: 4 Stars
"Loving Frank" is a novel about the true, but as yet untold, story of the love affair between the world famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney, who had commissioned Wright to build a new home for her and her husband, Edwin Cheney. Mamah (pronounced May-Meh and short for Martha) was known in her time, mostly as "that woman" (ring a bell?) who had gone away with Frank Lloyd Wright and in so doing destroyed both families. The affair became one of the biggest scandals of the day (1907-1914) and headlined the Chicago newspapers. The subtext of the novel is, in a sense, the story of feminism in America. In reading the novel one sees how much life and attitudes have changed for women in many ways and how little they have changed in others. The story demonstrates the complete double standards that existed for men and women in the early 1900's, double standards that have not completely been eradicated today. In that time it was all but forbidden for women to pursue their goals and talents beyond those of being a wife and mother.The book explores what happens to a woman who though living a conventional life, is not a conventional woman. She is educated at a fine college, well before women were expected or, in some cases, allowed to attend universities. Maymah's intelligence and curiosity make it difficult for her to pretend to live by the conventions of her day. She is in a loveless marriage with a man who is a good and fair man, but one for whom Mamah feels no deep love or connection. When she meets Frank Lloyd Wright and the affair begins, she is awakened to what a true love is and how two people can be so profoundly connected. Yet she is married and has two children and she loves them with all her heart. Still, Mamah decides to go with Wright to Europe. The story invites the reader to ask many questions, not the least of which is, "but what about the children"?
Another interesting theme of the book is architecture and the architect himself, Frank Lloyd Wright. In reading "Loving Frank", one does not finish the book wholly loving Frank. In fact, you learn that there is as much to dislike in the man, as there is to admire. It was as if Wright was born to be an architect and to think outside of the box. In as much, it was a good thing for the world that Wright was born a man and not a woman; just think what the world would have never known. One learns about his early "Prairie School" of Architecture and can easily imagine living in Oak Park, Illinois, where both he and Mamah lived, as well as the author, Nancy Horan. There is a conversation with the author at the end of the book (paperback edition and I would guess also hard cover) which is enlightening, as well as many references of her sources and other readings to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright.
The book's ending is not at all what one would have expected and it sent me and my fellow book club readers for a spin. I highly recommend "Loving Frank". I can assure you a very satisfying read.