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Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders
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Product Description
In response to the scandal generated by his open affair with the proto-feminist and free love advocate Mamah Borthwick Cheney, Wright had begun to build Taliesin as a refuge and "love cottage" for himself and his mistress (both married at the time to others).
Conceived as the apotheosis of Wright’s prairie house style, the original Taliesin would stand in all its isolated glory for only a few months before the bloody slayings that rocked the nation and reduced the structure itself to a smoking hull.
Supplying both a gripping mystery story and an authoritative portrait of the artist as a young man, Drennan wades through the myths surrounding Wright and the massacre, casting fresh light on the formulation of Wright’s architectural ideology and the cataclysmic effects that the Taliesin murders exerted on the fabled architect and on his subsequent designs.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #96838 in Books
- Published on: 2007-01-18
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 230 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Death in a Prairie House is a compelling argument in support of the theory that the Taliesin tragedy profoundly affected not only the future lives of those directly involved (not the least of whom was considered to be the most influential and gifted architect of the time), but likely, the whole course and development of modern architecture." - Craig Jacobsen, Taliesin Preservation, Inc."
Review
"Death in a Prairie House is a compelling argument in support of the theory that the Taliesin tragedy profoundly affected not only the future lives of those directly involved (not the least of whom was considered to be the most influential and gifted architect of the time), but likely, the whole course and development of modern architecture."—Craig Jacobsen, Taliesin Preservation, Inc.
"The thoroughness of Drennan's research combined with the clarity of his logic and writing style paints a complete, colorful picture of the tragedy. He painstakingly addresses all of the questions and theories that have puzzled many for more than ninety years."—Carla Lind, author of The Wright Style: Re-Creating the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright and Lost Wright
"A fascinating, insightful examination of a Wisconsin 'crime of the century,' a bizarre and tragic event that changed Wright's life, his career, and perhaps even American residential and architectural design.”—Bill Christofferson, journalist and author of The Man from Clear Lake
About the Author
William R. Drennan is professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Baraboo/Sauk County.
Customer Reviews
Boring and too little about the murders
I read "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan, a very good book by the way, and enjoyed it so much that I wanted more. I wanted more information on Mamah Cheney and the murders that took place at Taliesin but was disappointed to realize that this isn't the book for that. Sure, the last half of the book talks about the murders but you have to endure the first half just to get to it. As another reviewer pointed out, there are no diagrams or layouts to help you visualize where everything took place in the home and the information about Mamah and the murders is just too brief to title the book "Death in a Prairie House". Even the biographical information about Frank would be better retrieved in the biography by Meryle Secrest. I suggest you save your money when it comes to this book.
FLW beat to a different drum...
If ever there was a paradoxial person in this world it would be Mr. Wright. He was a genius and an eccentric man at the same time. He loved what he did and he it well but at the expense of others. This book delves into the his life style and his love of Mamah but focuses mostly on his work and his mind. I am only halfway thru the book and still have not been 'introduced' to the madman who ended the spirit of FLW. But so far...this is a must-read for FLW fans and just for those who want a good-read.
The Best Account of the Tragedy
This books gives an account of the tragic event and the circumstances surrounding it -- the murder of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, her two children and other members of celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright's household at Taliesin, his sprawling hillside home near Spring Green, Wisconsin.
The book is a work of non-fiction; it gives the reader as detailed a portrait of the tragedy as possible, now, nearly a century later.
William Drennan's account of the events takes a closer and more scientific approach to the fire and murders than heretofore. Mrs. Cheney and her son and daughter, along with members of the Taliesin household, were having lunch when the disaster occurred. A servant set fire to the house, and as the frightened residents attempted to flee, he killed many and wounded others using an axe. Word reached both Mr. Wright and Mr. Cheney in Chicago, at about the same time; they took the same train up to Wisconsin, still unsure of who had lived, who had died, and what might have precipitated the disaster.
In earlier biographies of Wright, none of the authors analyzed Taliesin's features--floor plans, doors, windows and courtyards--with an eye toward reconciling the sequence of events as witnessed by the survivors. Drennan remedies their oversight and in so doing, shows Wright scholars and aficionados, as well as the general reader, what probably occurred on that sad day. If you enjoy history, true-crime, or are simply a fan of Wright, you will not want to miss reading this book.
