O Henry | portfolio

62 Stories by O. Henry

O. Henry (1862-1910) is the pen name of William Sydney Porter who was one of the highest paid, most-read writers of his day. He was very funny, he made lovely use of language from the late 19th century and every story has a clever twist. He enchants us with the romance he found in every day living located in drab boarding houses and forgotten streets populated by regular people like you and me and celebrating the plight of the working-man. Here is my commentary on his rare form of entertainment that uses humor, irony and a sense of tragedy.

Spoiler Alert: Read and enjoy the stories first in the manner intended by this master of words and then come here and see what I have to say.

I will try to list all the 19th century colorful phrases packed with imagery.

The Four Million 13

The Gift of the Magi

A Cosmopolite in a Cafe

The Skylight Room

Man About Town

The Cop and the Anthem

The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein

Mammon and the Archer

Springtime a la Carte

From the Cabby's Seat

An Unfinished Story

The Romance of a Busy Broker

After Twenty Years

The Furnished Room

Heart of the West 5

This is not the wild west that you find in black and white movies of the first half of the 20th century! This is the west as depicted by an eye witness. That western lingo that we all know so well is brought alive with an authenticity that makes me laugh out loud. The words are fancy, colloquial and even poetic and they come out of the mouths of cattle ranchers, cowboys and frontiersmen. This is the closest you are going to get to a trip back in time to a place that has all but disappeared.

Hearts and Crosses

The Ransom of Mack

Telemachus, Friend

The Handbook of Hymen

Hygeia at the Solito

The Gentle Grafter 3

The Hand that Riles the World

The Exact Science of Matrimony

Conscience in Art

Roads of Destiny 7

Roads of Destiny

The Enchanted Profile