author
John Luther Long
1861–1927
Best known for the story that became the seed of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, this American lawyer-writer turned a family anecdote into one of the most famous cross-cultural tragedies in modern literature and opera.
2 Audiobooks
The Way of the Gods
by John Luther Long
About the author
Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1861, John Luther Long built a career as both a lawyer and a writer. He is remembered above all for "Madame Butterfly", a short story drawn from the recollections of his sister Jennie Correll, who had lived in Japan with her missionary husband.
That story reached far beyond the page. Long worked with playwright David Belasco on a stage adaptation, and the tale later inspired Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, which helped secure Long’s lasting place in literary and theatrical history.
Long died on October 31, 1927, in Clifton Springs, New York. Although he wrote other fiction and plays, his reputation still rests mainly on the emotional power and cultural afterlife of "Madame Butterfly".