Loving Frank - book by Nancy Horan

I finished listening to the unabridged audiobook Loving Frank by Nancy Horan last night.  The book is a fictionalized account of the true (some would say "scandalous") love story of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney.

My interest in this book came from listening to a podcast from the BEA BookExpo 2007 Editors Buzz Forum where Susanna Porter from Random House shared about this new book that was coming out in the summer..  The cover of the book is lacking in my opinion and didn't really draw me in, then I remembered what it was about.  Utilizinging my local public library (funded partially by my taxes) I checked out the CD version and listened to it on my iPod.

Admittedly I didn't know much about Frank Lloyd Wright or the buildings he designed, so I picked up another book in the library full of photos of his famous designs and was shocked to learn of the tragic ending to this story.  Even knowing the ending before listening to the last few chapters still left me unsettled after finishing it.

Fascinating to read about Mamah's life and education.  Reading of her remarkable ability to learn multiple languages, translation work for the Swedish writer, Ellen Key and and her interest/involvement in the feminist movement shows how far ahead of her time she was.

Reading (without judgement) of Frank and her life choices and situation, (especially during that time period), I cannot even begin to understand the mix of pain and joy it brought to them, their extended families, friends and clients.

Well written and interesting read.

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