Our Town and the Cosmic One-Acts: The Long Christmas Dinner, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, and Pullman Car Hiawatha

by Thornton Wilder, Sarah Ruhl (Introduction)

“[Our Town] leaves us with a sense of blessing, and the unspoken but palpable command to achieve gratitude in what remains of our days on earth.” — The New Yorker

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of life in the mythical village of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire—an allegorical representation of all life—is an American classic. It is the simple story of a love affair that asks timeless questions about the meaning of love, life, and death.

Our Town explores the relationship between two young neighbors, George Gibbs and Emily Webb, whose childhood friendship blossoms into romance, and then culminates in marriage. When Emily loses her life during childbirth, the circle of life portrayed in each of the three acts—childhood, adulthood, and death—is fully realized.

Widely considered one of the greatest American plays of all time, Our Town debuted on Broadway in 1938 and continues to be performed daily on stages around the world. This special edition includes an afterword by Wilder's nephew, Tappan Wilder, with illuminating documentary material about the playwright and his most famous drama.

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.

For more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton...

Reviews

[Tara ✨booksbeersbattlestargalactica✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often considered an American classic, 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏 is a quiet but powerful exploration of love, life, and mortality. This special edition also included three one-act plays that echo those same themes: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝑫𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒅𝒆𝒏, and 𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒂𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂.

I don’t read a ton of plays, but this one came recommended by my husband who was actually in a production of 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏, so imagining him in those scenes made the experience even more enjoyable 🥰 I was fond of all four pieces, but 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝑫𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 stood out as my favorite. Overall, this was a thoughtful, reflective read and a really nice palate cleanser.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Our Town' is an icon (some would say chestnut) of the American theater. It's structure and style seem unique among plays of the 20th century. It is as if it came out of nowhere.

This book shows you where it came from.

In the late 1920s and early 30s Wilder wrote a series of short one act plays, dealing with the big issues of love, death and remembrance. Like in 'Our Town', they often featured a Stage Manager and a set design so minimal that people used imaginary props and often only needed a chair to sit in. Like in 'Our Town', time often passes quickly (90 years in 'The Long Christmas Dinner').

And like in 'Our Town', people reflect on how fast time went by, and how poignant life is, even if they don't realize it in the moment. Emily's unforgettable final speech in 'Our Town' is prefigured by similar sentiments (and an almost identical speech by one character).

The three one act plays in this book, accompanying a full script from 'Our Town', is an invaluable guide to how Wilder worked out the themes and style in shorter form, to be blended into the masterpiece that we've come to know as an enduring work of American theater.

One act plays are difficult creatures; nobody really knows what to do with them. 'Our Town' is so famous, though, that I wish someone artistic director would stage a production featuring these three short plays. I'm sure audiences would get the resonances. It would be a memorable night of theater.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never read Our Town prior to reading this edition. However, I read Tom Lake two years ago and loved all of the references to this play. I’m so glad I finally picked it up. This play is about love and death and grief and life and time. I read this in one day and I want to go back and read it again. My favorite was Emily’s monologue at the end.

I also really enjoyed the one acts included in this edition. My favorite was The Long Christmas Dinner, which was a perfect read for the holidays.

[TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Our Town prior to picking up Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake last year because of the connection between the play and novel. I’m grateful for this special edition copy of the beloved classic play I highly recommend. I also read The Long Christmas Dinner, perfect timing for the holidays, and found it just as profound as Our Town.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Red Book Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank You to Harper Perennial for this free book in exchange for my honest review of Our Town and the Cosmic One-Acts by Thornton Wilder.
This book has 3 one-act plays that I had wanted to like but didn't. This was hard to follow for me and I just couldn't get into this one. I did enjoy one of the plays in this, but the others I did not. Sadly, this one was not for me, but I would still suggest this to other readers to try that enjoy plays.

[Francesca Palamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always loved the pulitzer prize winning play: Our Town. It was so special being able to read Wilder’s plays for the first time.