Selected Stories

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) was born into middle class life in Greensboro North Carolina. The family fell on hard times and he became a pharmacist and bank clerk. He served three years in the Ohio State Penitentary for embzzelment. (he was probably innocent) and began writing short stories and a few novels. The pen name "O Henry" was taken from "Ohio State Penitentary." He lived in many places from the South to Texas to New York City. He suffered from alcoholism, liver disease and diabetes losing his first wife and child. His second marriage was not happy. O Henry was a complex and gifted writer who is a true American original whose books have been in print for over 100 years. Penguin has published a handsome edition of 80 of the master's tales including a fine introduction by Dr. Guy Davenport. O Henry is best known for the "twist" he gives at the end of his stories tying up all the plot threads and sometimes surprising the reader! The stories cover everything from life in turn of the century New York to life in the American West to travels abroad in Latin America. The most famous story in the Penguin collection is "The Ransom of Red Chief" which deals with a mischevious young man who drives his kidnappers to distraction! Several stories deal with the adventures of con man Jeff Peters. The stories are sentimental dealing with love, adventure and the quest to make a dollar. Many of the them contain dialect. I object to the African-American dialect the author uses. He is condescending to African-Americans. This puts him in his place, time and culture. O Henry is not everyone's cup of tea but he will provide the reader with many short and interesting tales told by a narrator adept in comedy, unusual predicaments and a loving sympathy for the human condition.

This volume contains a generous selection of the altogether delicious servings of O. Henry's writings. One can never over-indulge in this fare.

I was surprised upon rereading O. Henry to discover more insight into human situation and character than I had thought of before. The image of a superficial maker of slight superficial gimmick stories was somehow in my mind, and it proved wholly wrong. Linguistic inventiveness, a strong narrative gift, a power to see into various kinds of human situation, warm human sympathy and of course , frequent humor, are found in his stories.

A collection of 100 or more short stories by O. Henry? My mouth waters already! It's hard to imagine any literary treat that can be enjoyed in small doses more pleasurable than this. I have spent over a year savouring these stories, reading them one by one, tasting his delightful choice of words, digesting his fascinating story-lines, and the warm satisfying afterglow that comes after a typical twist at the end. His stories are superbly outstanding in at least four ways, each illustrated with five of my personal favorites.Firstly, his brilliant use of language. These stories were written in the first half of the twentieth century, and O. Henry's use of language easily surpasses that of most contemporary writers. Not only does he have an extensive vocabulary, but his writing abounds with similes and metaphors that breathe sparkling life and depth into his stories. "Ulysses and the Dogman" is a fine example of his skills with a language, metaphorically portraying dog owners as victims of Circe, in a hopeless enchantment to their leashed pets. Also exemplary is "Madame Bo-Peep of the Ranches" where a ranch manager has a heart fenced by barbwire just like the ranch on which he lives, and yet the twist at the ending suggests that perhaps we were completely mistaken. "A Comedy in Rubber" uses wonderfully elevated language to farcically portray a class of people today known as ambulance chasers. And "Sisters of the Golden Circle" revolves around the profound bond that exists between two married women who are strangers but yet sisters "of the plain gold band." "An Unfinished Story" employs profound metaphors of angelic hosts to tell the tragic story of poor Dulcie's struggle for survival.Secondly, his unique insight into the social conditions of his time. O. Henry has a great understanding of the trials of the lower class, frequently picturing the lives of ordinary people of early twentieth century America with sympathetic colours. His characters are frequently the overlooked: the struggling shop girl, the unsuccessful artist, the impoverished. Admittedly, some of his images can be hard to comprehend for modern readers, and the distance that time has placed between us and O. Henry's beloved New York means that some of his verbal pictures will be harder to identify with. But his genuine sympathy for the oppressed cannot be missed. "The Gift of the Magi" is the signature O. Henry story, probably his most famous tale which recounts a poor young couple who both give up a prized possession in order to purchase a gift for one another - but ironically a gift intended to complement the other's prized possession that they have just given up. Another story which displays his ability to picture the social conditions of his time is "The Pendulum", a wonderful portrait of the daily routines of an poor couple and the bursting anxiety of a married man, until the bubble bursts. "The Cop and the Anthem" was the first O. Henry story I ever read, and humorou