The Strange Story of Mamah Borthwick's Tombstone

[truepenny]

I had to take the car in today and in the waiting room, my eye was caught by this article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

I had never heard of Mamah Borthwick, but there is an opera about her, as well as two novels, Loving Frank (2007) by Nancy Horan and The Women (2009) by T. C. Boyle And there's a nonfiction book, Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders by William R. Drennan.

I hope that the cemetery board will agree to permit the tombstone and undo, in however small a way, the century-long effect of Wright's breathtaking narcissism (check the last paragraph of the WSJ article). She has as much right as anyone else--certainly as much right as he does--to a memorial.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Boy, that last quote sure is breathtaking.

She risked (and lost) so much for him...and he can't even be bothered to put up a memorial before moving on to the next woman.

[miss55.livejournal.com]

Having grown up in Chicago, I was long a fan of FLW. When I first heard Mamah's name, I was rather shocked to find out about this affair. Yet, I can understand great love.

I don't know if FLW was so much narcissistic in his action as he was dramatic. Either way, she deserve a marker.

[(Anonymous)]

Dramatically narcissistic?

That quote made it sound like he had no concept of her as an individual, more a favorite toy that broke.

[katharine-b.livejournal.com]

I'm distantly related to Mamah -- she was a first cousin five times removed, I think, or something like that. My grandmother learned of Mamah's death as a child because people in her family's town kept asking if they were related to "that woman" after the murders.

Anyway, thank you for the article link! I kind of want to give the guy who bought the tombstone a big hug.

[girlpunksamurai.livejournal.com]

This, this is why I've avoided dating for the past year >.>