Plot in a nutshell: Little has been written about Mamah Cheney, Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest love. Horan finally gives her the spotlight in a beautifully written, thoroughly researched first novel.

Her story begins in 1901, when Mamah and her husband, Edwin, contract Frank Lloyd Wright to build their home in the Oak Park suburb of Chicago. When a spark develops between Frank and Mamah, all odds are against them. Frank is married with a passel of kids, and Mamah is pregnant with Ed's second child.

The temptation is irresistible, however, and Mamah and Frank embark on a long-term love affair. In 1909, they board a ship together and leave the United States for Europe.

The fallout from the affair is spectacular. Divorce in the early 1900s was rare and socially unacceptable. Frank's wife refuses to discuss the topic. Mamah's husband eventually grants her a divorce, but she is left stigmatized, unemployable and ostracized from her children. When the newspapers find out about the scandal, they go crazy, running articles that threaten Frank's career.

Still, Mamah and Frank remain together - until an unexpected tragedy, a horrific and brilliantly narrated event, tears them apart.

Sample of prose: " 'Taliesin.' She tried the word in her mouth as she studied the house in the distance.

"Indeed, the building glowed, in spite of the gray light. It was a shocking contrast to the little farmhouses she had seen on the way up to Spring Green. This house - the word seemed somehow wrong - was like nothing else she had ever seen. It looked so modern, so architected. Yet it was harmonious with the hills, its overhanging roofs echoing the pitch of the ridge. Elevated and isolated, away from other houses and set into this great golden vista, Taliesin was more like the villas around Fiesole than anything Frank had built in Oak Park.

" 'It's brilliant,' she whispered. She took off her glasses, squinted, then put them on again.

" 'It's for you,' he said."

Pros: The novel explodes with conflicting emotions and difficult situations. The tension between Mamah and Frank is palpable, the history fascinating and the climax of the novel terrifying.

Cons: None.

Final word: Loving Frank is a staggering read, a complex tale of the love affair between two eccentric, intelligent and unforgettable characters. Though it is very much a literary novel, sparks fly off the page.