The World of O. Henry

by O. Henry

Entertaining, sly, or poignant, the stories of O. Henry were - and remain - enormously popular. This collection, read by Frank Muller, contains the stories "The Gift of the Magi," "The Skylight Room," "The Cop and the Anthem," "The Last Leaf," "The Pimienta Pancakes," "The Furnished Room," "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking," "The Sleuths," "The Passing of Black Eagle," "Memoirs of a Yellow Dog," "A Retrieved Reformation," "Caught," "Makes the Whole World Kin," "The Reformation of Calliope," "After Twenty Years," "The Whirligig of Life," "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen," and "One Thousand Dollars."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1984

About the 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.

Reviews

[Jack Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Sidney Porter, O Henry, entertains with the language as well as the story. This collection of short stories is an example of the diverse adventures inside this classic author. The collection includes: The Gift of the Magi, The Reformation of Calliope, One Thousand Dollars, The Pimienta Pancakes, The Badge of Policeman O’Roon, The Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen, Caught, The Whirligig of Life, Makes the Whole World Kin, The Cop and the Anthem, Memoirs of a Yellow Dog, The Last Leaf, A Newspaper Story, The Skylight Room, A Retrieved Reformation, The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball, The Passing of Black Eagle, The Green Door, Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking, The Furnished Room, Springtime á la Carte, and A Madison Square Arabian Night. I am particularly fond of Memoirs of a Yellow Dog and The Passing of Black Eagle.

[Martha☀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Known for the famous surprise twist at the end of his short stories, this audio collection of O. Henry stories gave me my fill. After 19 stories, I feel that I have figured out his style and no longer have any need to read more. His stories fall into three categories - 1) a down-trodden character has such goodwill that he generously gives so much beyond his means that he perishes as a result 2) a seemingly trustworthy character, upholding the law, suddenly joins forces with a crimnal and vanishes with the stolen goods 3) a criminal finally decides to live an honest life but is put in a situation where he has to reveal his past. Comedic tragedy is common and characters have to make split-second moral/ethical choices. A few stories were confusing and the ending seemed inexplicable (Ways to Wealth, for example), but most left you with an "a-ha! I saw that coming" feeling. The audio narrator experimented with a whole lot of accents throughout the book and many were almost unintelligible, such as his southern lady drawl, his Texan cowpoke and something that might have been Irish. Not really recommended but sort of fun all the same. I mean, it doesn't take a lot of investment to read a 3 page story now and again.

[Joy H. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Added 2/17/14.
RE: The World Of O. Henry (Collected Short Stories by O. Henry)
I listened to a good number of stories from this collection via an audio-tape. I didn't enjoy them at all. There didn't seem to be a smooth flow of plot. I found most of the stories difficult to follow. Too many names and uninteresting details. Many of the stories are told with annoying "country" speech patterns.

Most of the GR reviews are positive but I found the following negative reviews:

_The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories_ by O. Henry
Robin's review - Oct 03, 08 - 2 of 5 stars
"I was not all that impressed. Some of the short stories were good but on the whole I found the author to be a bit over descriptive and wordy. I had to look up the meanings of several words and didn't care for the story interuptions from the author."
FROM: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

_The Complete Works of O. Henry_ by O. Henry
Michael C's review - Sep 13, 12 - 2 of 5 stars
"Well written, but very monotonous, and over-reliant on the twist ending gimmick. If you've read "The Gift of The Magi", then you get the idea."
FROM: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

_Complete Works of O. Henry Volume I_ by O. Henry
An Odd1's review - Jul 11, 12 - 2 of 5 stars
"Nigh on a foreign language from centuries gone. Often first person, related about a pal, a girl, a romance gone wrong, from his real life observations, about hombre, outlaw, drunk, drifter, grifter, shopgirl, in slang western, hobo, massah, obfuscatory, sometimes incomprehensible to those ignorant of train hop, horse, carriage, side gun, hat, and separate collar."
FROM: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

NOTE: Definition of "obfuscatory": Tending to obfuscate; intended to conceal the truth by confusion

[BOLD TEXT MINE.]

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories penned in another century (the author's life spanned 1862 - 1910) does not fit into any of my GOODREADS categories. It is fiction, yes, but I call my fiction shelf "novels", which this is not.

If you are looking to increase your vocabulary you would do well to take a plunge into his tales. He loves words, especially descriptions. His characters come from many walks of life. He likes to take them out of their familiar context and see what they do in another.

Some of the stories included are so well known as to have become cliche`, such as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Last Leaf". One must credit him for his ability to craft a surprise ending. And he IS entertaining, even now.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it. My top three from this collection were:
1. Twenty Years After
2. Gift of The Magi
3. The Last Leaf

[Michelle]

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