author
John Luther Long
1861–1927
Best known for the story that inspired Madama Butterfly, this American lawyer-turned-writer brought courtroom polish and a taste for drama to his fiction. His work helped shape one of the most famous tragic heroines in modern culture.
2 Audiobooks
The Way of the Gods
by John Luther Long
About the author
Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in 1861, John Luther Long built a career as both a lawyer and a writer. He is most closely associated with "Madame Butterfly," the 1898 story that later inspired David Belasco's play and, in turn, Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly.
Long's writing was often linked to stories shared by his sister Jennie Correll, who had lived in Japan with her missionary husband. That connection gave "Madame Butterfly" its starting point, though Long shaped the material into a work of fiction that reached a far wider audience than he could likely have imagined.
He died in 1927, but his name remains tied to one of the most influential literary source texts in opera history. For many readers, he stands as a reminder of how a short story can travel far beyond the page and take on a lasting life in other art forms.