Literature Network » O Henry

O Henry

---

O. Henry (1862-1910) was a prolific American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. A twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of O. Henry's stories.

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. His father, Algernon Sidney Porter, was a physician. When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunt. William was an avid reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and then worked in a drug store and on a Texas ranch. He moved to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk. After moving to Austin, Texas, in 1882, he married.

In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone. When the weekly failed, he joined the Houston Post as a reporter and columnist. In 1897 he was convicted of embezzling money, although there has been much debate over his actual guilt. In 1898 he entered a penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.

While in prison O. Henry started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret. His first work, "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking" (1899), appeared in McClure's Magazine. After doing three years of the five years sentence, Porter emerged from the prison in 1901 and changed his name to O. Henry.

O. Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the New York World, also publishing in other magazines. Henry's first collection, Cabbages And Kings appeared in 1904. The second, The Four Million, was published two years later and included his well-known stories "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Furnished Room". The Trimmed Lamp (1907) included "The Last Leaf". Henry's best known work is perhaps the much anthologized "The Ransom of Red Chief", included in the collection Whirligigs (1910). The Heart Of The West (1907) presented tales of the Texas range. O. Henry published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.

O. Henry's last years were shadowed by alcoholism, ill health, and financial problems. He married Sara Lindsay Coleman in 1907, but the marriage was not happy, and they separated a year later. O. Henry died of cirrhosis of the liver on June 5, 1910, in New York. Three more collections, Sixes And Sevens (1911), Rolling Stones (1912) and Waifs And Strays (1917), appeared posthumously.

The above biography is copyrighted. Do not republish it without permission.

• Related Links:

  • Find essays on O Henry

• Quizzes on O Henry

  • Ransom of Red Chief Quiz
  • O. Henry Quiz

Please submit a quiz here.

---

Recent Forum Posts on O Henry

Post a New Comment/Question on Henry

---

• Short Stories

  • "girl"
  • A Blackjack Bargainer
  • A Call Loan
  • A Chaparral Christmas Gift
  • A Chaparral Prince
  • A Little Local Colour
  • A Little Talk About Mobs
  • A Matter Of Mean Elevation
  • A Newspaper Story
  • A Poor Rule
  • A Sacrifice Hit
  • A Technical Error
  • An Afternoon Miracle
  • Best-seller
  • Blind Man's Holiday
  • Buried Treasure
  • Calloway's Code
  • Christmas By Injunction
  • Confessions Of A Humorist
  • Cupid A La Carte
  • Georgia's Ruling
  • He Also Serves
  • Hearts And Crosses
  • Hearts And Hands
  • Hygeia At The Solito
  • Madame Bo-peep, Of The Ranches
  • No Story
  • One Dollar's Worth
  • Out Of Nazareth
  • Round The Circle
  • Rus In Urbe
  • Schools And Schools
  • Seats Of The Haughty
  • Sociology In Serge And Straw
  • Suite Homes And Their Romance
  • The Caballero's Way
  • The Cactus
  • The Detective Detector
  • The Dog And The Playlet
  • The Gift Of The Magi
  • The Handbook Of Hymen
  • The Head-hunter
  • The Hiding Of Black Bill
  • The Higher Abdication
  • The Higher Pragmatism
  • The Hypotheses Of Failure
  • The Indian Summer Of Dry Valley Johnson
  • The Last Leaf
  • The Marry Month Of May
  • The Missing Chord
  • The Moment Of Victory
  • The Pimienta Pancakes
  • The Princess And The Puma
  • The Ransom Of Mack
  • The Ransom Of Red Chief
  • The Red Roses Of Tonia
  • The Reformation Of Calliope
  • The Roads We Take
  • The Rose Of Dixie
  • The Rubber Plant's Story
  • The Snow Man
  • The Song And The Sergeant
  • The Sparrows In Madison Square
  • The Sphinx Apple
  • The Theory And The Hound
  • The Third Ingredient
  • The Whirligig Of Life
  • The World And The Door
  • Thimble, Thimble
  • To Him Who Waits
  • Tommy's Burglar
  • Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen