Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders, by William R. Drennan

I read this book in 2023 (on audio) and forgot to blog about it. So here goes. This chapter of FL Wright's life is one I wasn't aware of. He'd met Mamah Bothwick in Oak Park, IL, where both lived with their respective spouses and kids. Then Frank and Mamah fell in love, left their families, and took up residence at a home built by FLW as a "love cottage" in Spring Green, Wisc. Dubbed Taliesin (taah' lee eh sen), the home was meant to shelter the couple from the press, who hounded them. Just months after moving there, on Aug. 15, 1914, a deranged staff member wielded an ax, killing Mamah, two of her visiting kids, plus other staff. Two staff survived. Meanwhile, the killer ingested poison hoping for suicide. But he was arrested and survived long enough to wither away in jail. 

After the murders at Taliesin, Wright's architecture changed. Not only did he create fewer projects, the ones he did create took on elements of fortresses. Gone were the large, wide windows. Instead, there was more solid wall space. Thereby, protecting the house dweller from prying eyes (or maybe from doers of harm). This stage of his architecture, according to the author, has been called, "Post-Taliesin." 

FL Wright died in 1959. He'd turned 91, just days earlier. His first wife, Catherine "Kitty," died that same year. Coincidentally, Kitty would not divorce him during his affair with Mamah. Kitty held hope of reconciliation. It wasn't until Nov. 1922, eight years after the Taliesin murders, that they divorced. Frank re-married the following year. He was never long without a woman it seems. 

Thumbs up on this book. It has mystery and intrigue, and I enjoyed learning about his artistry. In fact, I might listen to this audio book again someday. And for me, that's a big statement to make!

James: A Novel, by Percival Everett

Highly recommend this book. It needs to become a staple of Great Literature teachings from this point forward. Book pubbed March 19, 2024.

"My name is James. I was sold when I was born. And then sold again. My mother's mother was from someplace on the continent of Africa, as I've been told, or I simply assumed. I cannot claim to know anything of that world. Or whether my people were kings or beggars ..."

If the previous paragraph doesn't sound like "Jim," the slave of "The Adventures of Huck Finn," then you see how Everett has turned this story around. The narrator in "James" is the slave called Jim, who runs away from Hannibal, MO, and ends up on a river raft with Huck. James runs after he hears his master (Judge Thatcher) plans to sell him, thereby splitting him off from his wife, Sadie, and daughter, Lizzie. 

James teaches his family and other slaves that it's safer for slaves if white folks think they're the smartest. Being obsequious is a means by which a slave can try to escape whippings or worse. One can see how this mindset of white people continues today (in the 21st century). Though controversial among whites, racism in America continues, and is fueled by the lust for power. 

James and fellow slaves speak good English when they're out of earshot of whites. This code-switching is taught by James, who quizzes his daughter, "What would you do if you saw a fire in the distance and Mrs. Thatcher has her back to it?" After Lizzie says, "Yell 'fire'", James teaches her how to "translate" into a way that lets the white person be the one who discovers it, who decides what to do. In all situations, per James, the slave must appear stupid, clueless. 

James has dreams of speaking with Voltaire, John Locke, having intellectual discussions with these great minds. This is because James has actually read books by them in the Judge's library. As you can imagine, the great questions of life get knocked around. Wow, did Everett ever do a great job, using dreams as a way to analyze...human frailty, religion, and more. 

Note: I had to look up John Locke - "He is often credited as a founder of modern liberal thought, Locke pioneered the ideas of natural law, social contract, religious toleration, and the right to revolution that proved essential to both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution." (Source, https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu)