I found this softcover on the book-swap shelf in the Tyngsboro MA post office lobby while dropping off some books of my own, and nabbed it for another release copy. It's a novel based on a woman who had an affair with famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

While I wouldn't normally choose a book about the affairs of real-life people, this one was quite intriguing; I hadn't known anything about Wright's affairs, or about the intelligent, trapped-by-her-time Mamah, nor about the intricacies of their relationship. And Mamah's impressive ability with languages - she read and spoke several fluently and could easily learn more as needed - suggested that if she'd been born in our time she might have become a major influence... I hadn't known about Swedish writer Ellen Key, either, though she actually was wildly influential in her own time.

And yet another surprise - especially given that I'm usually aware of famous axe-murders - was the devastating and tragic conclusion to the affair, when a deranged employee killed Mamah, her two children, and several other people, and also set fire to Taliesin... It seems like the sort of thing I should have known, if not perhaps at the same level as the fate of the Titanic, but it came as quite a shock to me, and did affect my perception of the rest of the story.

Wright came across as a narcissist, control freak, and more than a bit of a jerk - though also charismatic and talented enough to get away with it; Mamah's joy in their relationship was due in part to his early respect for her ideas and abilities, but she became aware of his more unfortunate flaws as time went on, and it's unclear whether, had the tragedy not occurred, they could have helped each other to be better - or would have broken up eventually.

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2019 e-less release challenge. ***