I just now heard the story of Wright, Mamah Borthwick, and Taliesin for the first time. - Greg GuitarBuster

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. - Greg GuitarBuster

In 1909, Mamah and Wright left their spouses and traveled to Europe. Most of their friends and acquaintances considered their open closeness to be scandalous, especially since Catherine had refused to agree to a divorce. The Chicago newspapers criticized Wright, implying that he would soon be arrested for immorality, despite statements from the local sheriff that he could not prove that the couple was doing anything wrong. After the couple moved to Taliesen, the editor of the Spring Green, Wisconsin newspaper condemned Wright for bringing scandal to the village; The scandal affected Wright's career for several years; he did not receive his next major commission, the Imperial Hotel, until 1916. - Greg GuitarBuster

Wright designed and built Taliesin specifically for he and Mamah. - Greg GuitarBuster

On August 15, 1914, while Wright was working in Chicago, Julian Carlton, a black male servant from Barbados who had been hired several months earlier, set fire to the living quarters of Taliesin and murdered seven people with an axe as the fire burned. The dead included Mamah; her two children, John and Martha; a gardener; a draftsman named Emil Brodelle; a workman; and another workman's son. Two people survived the mayhem, one of whom helped to put out the fire that almost completely consumed the residential wing of the house. Carlton swallowed muriatic acid immediately following the attack in an attempt to kill himself. He was nearly lynched on the spot, but was taken to the Dodgeville jail. Carlton died from starvation seven weeks after the attack, despite medical attention. At the time, Wright was overseeing work on Midway Gardens in Chicago, Illinois. - Greg GuitarBuster