Whirligigs

O. Henry

May 2014 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

O. Henry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). Porter's 400 short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, characterization and the clever use of twist endings. He travelled to Austin in 1884, where he took a number of different jobs over the next several years, first as pharmacist then as a draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began writing as a sideline to employment. Porter's most prolific writing period started in 1902, when he moved to New York City to be near his publishers. He wrote 381 short stories while living there. He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine. His wit, characterization and plot twists were adored by his readers, but often panned by the critics. Yet, he went on to gain international recognition and is credited with defining the short story as a literary art form. His works include: Cabbages and Kings (1904), The Four Million (1906), Heart of the West (1907), The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories of the Four Million (1907), The Voice of the City: Further Stories of the Four Million (1908), The Gentle Grafter (1908) and Roads of Destiny (1909).

About the author

O. Henry is the pen name of William Sidney Porter, who was born on September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Porter was a licensed pharmacist and worked on a sheep ranch in Texas. He was a draftsman for the General Land Office and a teller for the First National Bank of Texas. He was convicted of embezzlement and eventually served five years in prison. While in prison, he began writing short stories under his pseudonym and eventually wrote over 300. As O. Henry, Porter is one of America's best known writers, and his stories, such as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Ransom of Red Chief", are still taught in schools. In 1918, the O. Henry Awards, an annual anthology of short stories, was established in his honor. Porter died on June 5, 1910.