William Sidney Porter, better known by his pen name, O. Henry, was one of the world’s great storytellers, a master of cunning plots that unfold with propulsive narrative force and a gifted humorist who ranks among the best in our literature. Though he is most famous today for the beloved tale “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry’s palette of moods and methods was broad, as expansive as his exuberant imagination. This Library of America volume offers a fresh look at his singular literary genius. Selected and expertly annotated by journalist and biographer Ben Yagoda, here are 101 of O. Henry’s short stories, including such enduringly popular tales as “The Ransom of Red Chief,” in which a ten-year-old boy proves to be more than a match for his bungling kidnappers, and “The Cop and the Anthem,” about a down-on-his-luck hobo desperately trying to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a warm cell. Among other highlights are several of his Honduras stories, drawn from Porter’s experiences in Central America while on the run from the law; adventures of the sardonic embezzler Jeff Peters and his scam-artist colleagues; and tales of the Texas range like “The Caballero’s Way,” which introduces the murderous desperado the Cisco Kid. At the heart of the collection are Porter’s vivid New York stories. O. Henry was the original wanderer in the city (“It’ll be a great place if they ever finish it”), capturing in his stories the lives of the many and various people who throng its streets: shop girls, tycoons, immigrants, cops, criminals, con-men, and tourists. “When I first came to New York,” he recalled, “I spent a great deal of time knocking about around the streets. I did things I wouldn’t think of doing now.” He turned those experiences and observations into such gems as “Twenty Years Later” and “The Last Leaf.” Many of these stories feature O. Henry’s signature twist endings, and they reveal all the serendipity of urban life with warmth and wit. Rounding out the volume are O. Henry’s final, posthumously published stories, “Let Me Feel Your Pulse,” “The Snow Man,” and “The Dream,” and, as a special feature, three early stories published for the first time. Here is an O. Henry for the twenty-first century, a fully annotated edition that showcases the extraordinary range of a great American writer.
Author
Such volumes as Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. Henry. His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language. Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch. In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him. He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him. In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras. Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves . In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling . In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York. In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed. Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed. People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
