Almost Nothing

Reclaiming Edith Farnsworth

By: Nora Wendl

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Paperback | 20 May 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
152 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
15.2 x 22.9 x 1.7

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The iconic Edith Farnsworth House is a singular glass home designed by Mies van der Rohe. But the oft-told history of the house overwrites Farnsworth's role as Mies's collaborator and antagonist while falsely portraying her as the architect's angry ex-lover. Nora Wendl's audacious work of creative nonfiction explodes the sex-and-real-estate myth surrounding the Edith Farnsworth House and its two central figures. An eminent physician and woman of letters, Farnsworth left a rich trove of correspondence, memoirs, and photographs that Wendl uses to reconstruct her voice. Farnsworth's memories and experiences alternate with Wendl's thoughts on topics like misogyny and professional ambition to fashion a lyrical examination of love, loneliness, beauty, and the search for the divine. Eloquent and confessional, Almost Nothing restores Edith Farnsworth to her place in architectural history and the masterpiece that bears her name.

Industry Reviews

"Almost Nothing radically changes our understanding of how the history of modern architecture has been created, and illuminates the actual mechanisms of those who have created it. Wendl's flawless writing is lyrical, propulsive, and incredibly clear. Every idea in this astonishing book is at once new and so well-explained that it feels almost intuitive; the central arguments are rigorous and well-developed while simultaneously being an absolute pleasure to read. I could not turn away from this book, nor did I want to."--Eva Hagberg, author of When Eero Met His Match: Aline Louchheim Saarinen and the Making of an Architect

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