Death in a Prairie House

Death in a Prairie House by William R. Drennan  218 pp.

After I read Loving Frank I was curious about the mass murder and fire that took place at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin in August 1914. I was also interested in finding out more about Edwin Cheney, the jilted husband of Mamah Borthwick and president of Wagner Electric, since he eventually lived in St. Louis (and I had a family member who worked at Wagner back in the '70s).  This book gives a factual and somewhat dry account of the events leading up to the brutal axe murder and burning of seven people at the famed Wisconsin compound. No one was able to come up with a satisfactory reason why the servant, Julian Carleton, slaughtered Wright's mistress, Borthwick, her two young children, and four of Wright's employees. Carleton drank acid after the crime and subsequently died of starvation in custody while awaiting trial on one of the multiple murder charges. Little information was given about Cheney other than his remarriage and children by his second wife. It is interesting to note that Wright's architectural style changed after the murders. His homes became more fortress-like, with small windows and block-like facades, and the structures were made of more fire-proof materials.

In spite of the tragic nature of this event, Wright's arrogance is very evident...and I'm still not a big fan of his architecture.