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O Christmas Three: O. Henry, Tolstoy, and Dickens
Heartwarming stories that recall Christmases
· O.Henry’s all-American tale, “The Gift of the Magi,” originally published in 1906. · Leo Tolstoy’s Russian folktale, “Where Love Is, There God Is Also” from 1887. · And Charles Dickens’ little-known classics "The Seven Poor Travellers" and "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older," from 1854 and 1851. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas…. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim.” – from the beginning of “The Gift of the Magi”
· O.Henry’s all-American tale, “The Gift of the Magi,” originally published in 1906. · Leo Tolstoy’s Russian folktale, “Where Love Is, There God Is Also” from 1887. · And Charles Dickens’ little-known classics "The Seven Poor Travellers" and "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older," from 1854 and 1851. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas…. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim.” – from the beginning of “The Gift of the Magi”
- GenresChristmasShort Stories
112 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2010
About the author
O. Henry
3,001 books1,982 followersSuch 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 17, 2022
I enjoyed reading Tolstoy's, "Where Love is, There God is Also" for the 1st time. It's a sweet story about a man unknowingly serving God. My second favorite is O'Henry's story, "The gift of the Magi". It's about sacrificial giving at Christmas. This is a great, small book of short Christmas stories.
January 1, 2019
Lovely short stories from older days.
December 28, 2021
Fun little Christmas read. I had read the O. Henry story before and the Tolstoy story was familiar, but I had never read the two Dickens pieces. Very nice--I probably enjoyed those the most.
January 20, 2011
This was a delightful book to read the week after Christmas, when the tree was still up but the hurry and worry of the season had receded. It is a collection of Christmas classics. Here are a few thoughts about each selection:
“The Gift of the Magi” by O.Henry. I have read the illustrated, abridged version of this story to my children many times, but this was my first time through the complete story. It is one of my favorites stories of all time and captures the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of sacrificial marriage, and true romantic love. The dramatic irony in this story is a heart-twister no matter how many times I’ve read it.
“Where God Is, There Love Is Also” by Leo Tolstoy. This is a morality tale, but so sweetly and artfully told that the lesson goes down easily. Martuin dreams that he hears Christ’s voice telling him to look for Him tomorrow, for He will visit him. He watches all day, but sees only the poor and lonely who pass his window and whom he invites into his home to help and comfort.
“The Seven Poor Travelers” by Charles Dickens. This was a new find for me and I loved it. It is a story within a story. The first story is of a good deed done for the sake of remembering a loved one and for the sake of Christmas charity. The story within the story is a Jean Valjean type story of a lost soul reclaimed by love. Those change of heart stories always touch me.
“What Christmas Is as We Grow Older” by Charles Dickens. This is not a story, but an essay. I like the theme Dickens chose of a taking a mature view of Christmas. So often I feel nostalgic for the time when all I had to worry about for Christmas was what to put at the top of my wish list. Now that I am the Christmas-maker, I feel the weight of responsibility for the Christmas joy of others. Dickens reminds us that when we are children, Christmas is about the present merriment. But as we grow older, we bring to Christmas not just the now/this year perspective, but our memories of Christmas past. Our celebration is richer when we invite to our Christmas hearth all that was meaningful from our past. We can welcome the memories of people we have loved who used to share Christmas with us, but who have since died. We can recall the ambitions we had in our youth and the young love that made Christmas a romantic season. These memories can help us love and understand the young people around us whose own ambitions and romantic leanings are now in bloom. We can remind ourselves that Christmas happiness, when we have grown to the age of responsibility, is found in remembering to do our duty to others and to live with charity and compassion and a desire to impart happiness to others.
“The Gift of the Magi” by O.Henry. I have read the illustrated, abridged version of this story to my children many times, but this was my first time through the complete story. It is one of my favorites stories of all time and captures the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of sacrificial marriage, and true romantic love. The dramatic irony in this story is a heart-twister no matter how many times I’ve read it.
“Where God Is, There Love Is Also” by Leo Tolstoy. This is a morality tale, but so sweetly and artfully told that the lesson goes down easily. Martuin dreams that he hears Christ’s voice telling him to look for Him tomorrow, for He will visit him. He watches all day, but sees only the poor and lonely who pass his window and whom he invites into his home to help and comfort.
“The Seven Poor Travelers” by Charles Dickens. This was a new find for me and I loved it. It is a story within a story. The first story is of a good deed done for the sake of remembering a loved one and for the sake of Christmas charity. The story within the story is a Jean Valjean type story of a lost soul reclaimed by love. Those change of heart stories always touch me.
“What Christmas Is as We Grow Older” by Charles Dickens. This is not a story, but an essay. I like the theme Dickens chose of a taking a mature view of Christmas. So often I feel nostalgic for the time when all I had to worry about for Christmas was what to put at the top of my wish list. Now that I am the Christmas-maker, I feel the weight of responsibility for the Christmas joy of others. Dickens reminds us that when we are children, Christmas is about the present merriment. But as we grow older, we bring to Christmas not just the now/this year perspective, but our memories of Christmas past. Our celebration is richer when we invite to our Christmas hearth all that was meaningful from our past. We can welcome the memories of people we have loved who used to share Christmas with us, but who have since died. We can recall the ambitions we had in our youth and the young love that made Christmas a romantic season. These memories can help us love and understand the young people around us whose own ambitions and romantic leanings are now in bloom. We can remind ourselves that Christmas happiness, when we have grown to the age of responsibility, is found in remembering to do our duty to others and to live with charity and compassion and a desire to impart happiness to others.
January 10, 2015
"O Christmas Three: O. Henry, Tolstoy, and Dickens" is a nice, light read for the holiday season. It includes O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", Leo Tolstoy's "Where Love Is, There God is Also", and Charles Dickens' "The Seven Poor Travellers" and "What Christmas is as We Grow Older". The book itself is an attractive little hardbound and each selection is short enough to be read at one sitting. Normally I would have given it 5-stars, but I feel the price I paid for the book was a bit too much given the brevity of the stories.
December 2, 2011
it was "okay"
January 3, 2014
O'Henry & Tolstoy stories are great classics that are still fun to read. Dickens ... not so much!
December 20, 2015
Quick read. Enjoyed O. Henry and Tolstoy more than Dickens.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews