by Nancy Horan
First published 2008
Mamah Borthwick faces an impossible decision in early twentieth century Chicago. She can remain unhappily married with her children, or she can leave everything behind to pursue her intellectual and romantic fulfillment with Frank Lloyd Wright. The celebrated architect offers her a chance to escape to Europe and develop herself as an independent woman. Mamah chooses love and freedom over social convention. She flees with Wright, becoming his lover and muse while he creates the designs that will make him famous, including the future Guggenheim Museum in New York. But Mamah's bold choice comes with devastating consequences she will not live to see resolved. Nancy Horan brings to life a strong woman's internal battle against the rigid expectations of her era, showing how Mamah struggled to define herself beyond the roles of wife and mother.
Genres: romance, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, biographical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: forbidden-love, independent-woman, social-outcast
Setting: Chicago, Europe
Period: Early 20th Century
447 pages · Paperback · Mouria