Mamah Borthwick

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Martha "Mamah" Borthwick (June 1869 - August 15, 1914) was most noted for an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright that ended only when she was murdered.

Borthwick earned her BA at the University of Michigan in 1892.^[1] She later worked as a librarian in Port Huron, Michigan. In 1899, Borthwick married Edwin Cheney, an electrical engineer from Oak Park, Illinois, USA. They had two children: John (1902) and Martha (1905).

Mamah met Wright's wife, Catherine, through a social club. Soon after, Edwin commissioned Wright to design them a home, now known as the Edwin H. Cheney House, and, as of 2005, housing a bed & breakfast.

In 1909, Mamah (now formally known as Martha Borthwick Cheney, although she stopped using her husband's name after they were divorced in 1911 after returning from Europe) and Wright left their respective spouses and traveled to Europe, settling in Italy for about a year. (Some historians believe they had secretly been romantically involved as far back as 1905). Upon their return, most of the people in their previous social circle considered their open closeness to be quite scandalous, especially since Catherine had refused to agree to a divorce (and wouldn't until 1922). The editor of the local newspaper in Spring Green, Wisconsin condemned Wright for bringing scandal to the village; even big city Chicago papers joined in the criticism, implying he would soon be arrested for immorality, despite statements from the local sheriff that he couldn't prove the couple was doing anything wrong. The scandal affected Wright's career for several years; he was commissioned with only half as many projects as he had typically received before. He didn't get his next big project, the Imperial Hotel, until 1916.

On August 15, 1914, a dispute with one of Wright's recently hired domestic workers led the worker, Julian Carlton^[2] , to murder Mamah, both her children, three of Wright's associates, and a son of one of the associates. He set fire to one wing of Wright's house, Taliesin, and murdered the seven people with an ax while it burned. At the time, Wright was overseeing work on Midway Gardens in Chicago, Illinois.

Mamah's time with Frank Lloyd Wright is the basis of Loving Frank, a novel by Nancy Horan published Aug. 7, 2007, by Ballantine/Random House.

An opera, Shining Brow, covers the story of the Cheneys and Wrights, from when they meet in Wright's office, through the aftermath of Mamah's death. The music is by American composer Daron Hagen and the libretto is by Paul Muldoon.

[edit] Notes

^ University of Michigan 1893, p. 189
^ WILD NEGRO CHEF KILLS 6, WOUNDS 4; Former Mrs. C.H. Cheney of Chicago Murdered in Cottage of Frank Lloyd Wright. SLAYS ONE AFTER THE OTHER Sets Fire to Building and One More Victim May Be In the Ruins. Special to The New York Times.. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Aug 16, 1914. p. 12