‘Historical fiction’ isn’t all tight bodices, hooped skirts and drawing-room drama. In fact, The Women by T. C. Boyle is all about the sharp, clean lines of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s unparalleled work and the messy, scandalous affairs he conducted with the women in his life.

Boyle tells the story of Frank Lloyd Wright through the eyes of a fictional Japanese apprentice. Interestingly, the story is narrated in reverse chronological order, starting with Wright’s last great love, the Montenegrin beauty Olgivanna Milanoff; then examining the messy but passionate affair with Southern belle Maude Miriam Noel; moving on to the tragic Mamah Cheney, whose story is intertwined with that of Wright’s first wife, Kitty Tobin, who bore him six children.

L-R: Kitty, Mamah, Miriam, Olga

Telling the story in reverse is a masterstroke. Boyle finishes the story with the catastrophic fire and murder of Mamah and six others at Taliesin, Wright’s home in Wisconsin. The final chapters are chilling – the part of the murderer is told in a way that is both distant, calculating but personal. It’s exceptional story-telling, particularly when you close the book and consider that Wright survived, went on working and later became involved with Miriam and Olgivanna. Continue reading →