O. Henry is an American writer known for his teaching and amusing short stories. His tales are very simple, but they are full of meaning. The writer’s main source of inspiration is life, that’s why these small masterpieces are so close to our hearts. The little story “Lord Oakhurst's Curse” is one of O. Henry’s earliest attempts at writing. It was sent in a letter to Dr. Beall of Greensboro in 1883. The story is fascinating and witty and of course it has a trick ending. God will repay each person according to what they have done. The tale is a proof of this famous proverb. Old rich Lord Oakhurst was dying. The life had never seemed so amazing to him before, summer day was bright and sunny. He was thinking about the wonderful day, when he made a proposal to his young wife. She was not fond this idea at first, but when she recognized how much he earns, she threw herself on to him and agreed. What a coincidence! Then Everhard Fitzarmond, famous physician, arrived. He drily certified death of the Lord and insensibly took some gold things from the castle. But the main character had some surprises or “curses” for people, who treated him badly. The tale will make you sure that the law of boomerang surely exists.
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.
