Dear Bob, Dear Betty: Love and Marriage During the Great Depression

In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, two young people meet and fall in love. Llewellyn Wright (Bob), Frank Lloyd Wright’s youngest son, whose adolescence was marked by the public scandals surrounding his father’s private life, is struggling to begin a private law practice in Chicago. Elizabeth Kehler (Betty), daughter of a Chicago artist who abandoned the family when she was still in the womb, is working as an intake counselor at the Milwaukee Vocational School. Their fervent correspondence over a 10-month courtship period is witty, sassy and poignant, as they grapple with their passionate feelings and try to create a financially stable marriage in the midst of the 20th century’s most serious economic crisis. The couple’s daughter, a scholar of French literature, has written an Introduction telling their story before and after the courtship. 35 illustrations, extensive footnotes and an Index illuminate the family and social history behind the letters.