Nancy Horan

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER At the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists' colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent, and opinionated belle Americaine. A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature rather than the law - and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson's charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair-marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness that spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health following their art and dreams eventually settling in Samoa where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried, with these words on his grave: Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. (Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson)

El 9 de abril de 2009 se cumplen 50 años de muerte de Frank Lloyd Wright. Amar a Frank, aclamada por la crítica y el público estadounidense, es una poderosa novela que ilumina aspectos desconocidos de la vida del genial arquitecto. En 1903, Frank Lloyd Wright empezo a trabajar en la casa de una pareja de Oak Park: Edwin y Mamah Cheney. La relacion entre Mamah y Frank sacudiria a la sociedad de Chicago y cambiaria para siempre las vidas de ambos, hasta un tragico desenlace. Minuciosamente documentada, la novela de Nancy Horan retrata los Estados Unidos de la epoca y tambien la Europa de las vanguardias, y nos permite conocer no solo la verdadera personalidad del padre de la arquitectura norteamericana del siglo XX, autor de obras emblematicas como la Casa de la Cascada y el Museo Guggenheim de Nueva York, sino tambien la batalla de Mamah Cheney: una mujer que se vio obligada a elegir entre sus roles de madre, esposa, amante e intelectual.

The international bestseller. When renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright ran off in the early 1900s with Mameh Cheney, his clients wife, polite Chicago society was shocked. While both abandoned their children, it was Mameh who paid societys price - a price that had shocking consequences.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER At the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists' colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent, and opinionated belle Americaine. A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature rather than the law - and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson's charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair-marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness that spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health following their art and dreams eventually settling in Samoa where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried, with these words on his grave: Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. (Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICKLook for special features inside. Join the Random House Readers Circle for author chats and more.From Nancy Horan, New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank, comes her much-anticipated second novel, which tells the improbable love story of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny.At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgiumwith her three children and nanny in towto study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated belle Americaine.Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writingand who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevensons charms, and the two begin a fierce love affairmarked by intense joy and harrowing darknessthat spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevensons own unforgettable tales.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCHFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank comes a much-anticipated second novel, which tells the improbable love story of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny. At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgiumwith her three children and nanny in towto study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated belle Americaine. Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writingand who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevensons charms, and the two begin a fierce love affairmarked by intense joy and harrowing darknessthat spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevensons own unforgettable tales.Praise for Under the Wide and Starry SkyA richly imagined [novel] of love, laughter, pain and sacrifice . . . Under the Wide and Starry Sky is a dual portrait, with Louis and Fanny sharing the limelight in the best spirit of teamworka romantic partnership.USA Today Powerful . . . flawless . . . a perfect example of what a man and a woman will do for love, and what they can accomplish when its meant to be.Fort Worth Star-Telegram Horans prose is gorgeous enough to keep a reader transfixed, even if the story itself werent so compelling. I kept re-reading passages just to savor the exquisite wordplay. . . . Few writers are as masterful as she is at blending carefully researched history with the novelists art.The Dallas Morning News A classic artistic bildungsroman and a retort to the genre, a novel that shows how love and marriage can simultaneously offer inspiration and encumbrance.The New York Times Book Review

FABULOUSThe TimesFASCINATINGNew York TimesTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAt the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent, and opinionated belle Americaine.A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature rather than the law - and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Islandand The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevensons charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair-marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness that spans decades as they travel the world, following their art and their dreams.

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, Edwin, 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 Americas greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheneys 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. Horans Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamahs is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novels 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.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Nancy Horans Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Advance praise for Loving Frank: Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. Its mesmerizing and fascinatingfilled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years agoall gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency. Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading. Scott Turow It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wrights love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate. Jane Hamilton I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she ll ever leave. Elizabeth Berg

In the internationally bestselling vein of The Paris Wife and Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald this biographical novel is set in the early 1900s when polite Chicago society was rocked by terrible scandal when renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, ran off with Mamah Cheney, a clients wife.Abandoning their families and reputations, the lovers fled to Europe and exile. Mamahs actions branded her an unnatural mother and society relished her persecution. For the rest of her life Mamah paid an extraordinary price for moving outside societys rules, in a time that was unforgiving of a womans quest for fulfilment and personal happiness. Headstrong and honest, her love for Frank was unstoppable. This portrait of her life as his muse and soulmate is a moving, passionate and timeless love story with a shocking conclusion.

San Francisco, à l’aube du XXe siècle. À 35 ans, Fanny Osbourne décide de quitter son mari infidèle et de partir pour l’Europe avec ses trois enfants. Elle veut se donner une chance de tout recommenc

Chicago,1903. Un jeune couple, les Cheney, fait appel à Frank Lloyd Wright, l’architecte d’avant-garde, génial et rebelle, pour qu’il construise leur nouvelle maison. Et c’est le coup de foudre : Fra