Making People Happy

Buchanan, Thompson, 1877-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 305K words
Chapters: 31

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Making People Happy by Thompson BuchananAuthor: Buchanan, Thompson, 1877-1937,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 25, 2009

Editor's review

Making People Happy is an English-language play by Thompson Buchanan, classified under American and Canadian literature and available as a public-domain ebook via Project Gutenberg. Buchanan was active in early twentieth-century American commercial theater; his plays are typically briskly structured with witty dialogue, generating comic tension around urban life and interpersonal relationships. The title itself signals the work's central concern: who has the right to define another person's happiness, and how goodwill can inadvertently become interference. Readers may treat it as a window onto early twentieth-century American social attitudes and stage tastes, or as a lightweight English drama text for language learning. The public-domain ebook allows full-text searching of characters' lines, making it suitable for dramatic readings or scene rehearsals by theater enthusiasts. Note that this is a stage play, not a novel, so readers must supply scenery and stage business in their imaginations; its values and humor also bear distinct marks of their era, which today's readers may appreciate with a critical eye.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature enthusiasts interested in early twentieth-century American drama and commercial theater
Language learners who want to practice close reading and line delivery with short English plays
Campus drama clubs or reading groups seeking public-domain English play scripts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the tightly plotted experience of a novel
Readers sensitive to the period prejudices and conventions of early English-language plays
Professional theater researchers seeking an authoritative annotated edition or performance-rights guidance

Reading tips

Read the cast list and stage directions first to understand the scene structure, then move on to the dialogue.
Try reading aloud by role, using tone to distinguish characters; this captures the comic rhythm more easily than silent reading.
After finishing, note two expressions of values that make you uncomfortable or doubtful, and use them as discussion topics.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a novel or a play? How does the reading approach differ?

This is a stage play, consisting mainly of character dialogue and stage directions, with very little narrative description. When reading, you need to imagine the stage blocking and character movements from the dialogue and scene cues. It is best to look at the cast list and scene divisions first, then read aloud by role; this will go more smoothly than reading silently from the beginning.

How difficult is the English, and what level of learner is it suitable for?

The work was written in the early twentieth century. The dialogue is mostly everyday colloquial English, and the sentence structures are not especially difficult, but it includes slang and stage diction of the period. Readers with intermediate English reading ability can make progress with the help of a dictionary. When using it for close reading, pay particular attention to tone and subtext in the dialogue.

Can the Gutenberg version be used directly for public performance?

Project Gutenberg releases public-domain electronic texts, which usually means the original work has entered the public domain. However, public performance also involves adaptation, music, venue, and other specific matters, and rules vary from country to country. If you plan a formal performance, it is advisable to separately verify local copyright and performance licensing requirements.

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About the author

Buchanan, Thompson, 1877-1937 Author · American · 1877–1937

Thompson Buchanan (1877–1937) was an American journalist and playwright. Public information about his life is limited; what can be confirmed is that he worked in journalism before turning to playwriting, and that a number of his plays were staged on Broadway. His representative work, Making People Happy, continues his characteristic light-comedy style, marked by brisk dialogue and plots close to everyday life, with attention to ordinary people's emotions and relationships; it earned him a place on the commercial theatre stage of his time. Though not prolific, his works were welcomed by audiences for their tight structure and lively language, and they offer a useful example of the development of popular American comedy in the early twentieth century. Only one of his works is currently held in this collection.