Brief Lives

Loretta Freeman persuades her friend Bruce Drayton to write a play about a 19th century American stage magician-comic-songwriter who got into deep trouble when he strayed from his calling. Her parents, who run a theatre company, produce the play. The bulk of the novel consists of short accounts of people involved in the production or who are interested in it and difficulties they they encounter. The purpose of "Brief Lives" is to illustrate a common feature of human existence: that we compensate for the brevity of earthly life and the inconveniences that occur frequently with acts of creativity.