Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Loving Frank is a novel based on the tragic love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. In 1903, prairie architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs a house for Mamah and her husband, Edwin, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A few years later, Mamah and Frank begin their affair and run off to Europe together, leaving their families behind. Mamah, a feminist who is fluent in five languages, must find a new life for herself because her decision to love Frank against all of society's conventions means a complete break from her old one. The novel was fascinating because it provides an intimate, more human view of Wright that has been overshadowed by his mythical personality. I also liked it for the portrayal of a woman who gave up so much for the sake of her intellectual and emotional journey.