Loving Frank

Author: Nancy Horan

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $22.99 AUD
  • : 9780340919446
  • : Hodder & Stoughton
  • : Sceptre
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  • : 0.311
  • : October 2008
  • : 198mm X 129mm X 28mm
  • : United Kingdom
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Nancy Horan
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
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  • :
  • : 813/.6
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  • : 432
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Barcode 9780340919446
9780340919446

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, Ed win, 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. 

Promotion info

The scandal that rocked society and defied convention.

Awards

Shortlisted for Galaxy British Book Awards: Waterstone's New Writer of the Year 2009.

Reviews

'Enthralling' -- New York Times 'A novel of impressive scope and ambition' -- Washington Post 'A riveting historical novel.' -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer '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 ... is engrossing, provocative reading.' -- Scott Turow

Author description

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 -- on the same street as the Cheney house -- until her recent move to Puget Sound.