The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories
O. Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter, is one of the most celebrated short story writers of all time, whose stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm portrayal, and creative twist endings. O. Henry is so acknowledged as a great short story writer that his pen name is associated with a prestigious American award given to short stories of exceptional merit.
Included in this collection of ‘The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories’ is the title story which describes the struggles of a poor young married couple as they strive to secretly buy each other Christmas gifts. Also included in this collection are the following stories: ‘The Cop and the Anthem’, ‘Springtime À La Carte’, ‘The Green Door’, ‘After Twenty Years’, ‘The Furnished Room’, ‘The Pimienta Pancakes’, ‘The Last Leaf’, ‘The Voice of The City’, ‘While The Auto Waits’, ‘A Retrieved Reformation’, ‘A Municipal Report’, ‘A Newspaper Story’, ‘The Ransom of Red Chief’, ‘A Ghost of a Chance’, and ‘Makes the Whole World Kin’.
BEST DEALS
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.