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O. Henry

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O. Henry


Born
in Greensboro, North Carolina, The United States
September 11, 1862

Died
June 05, 1910

Genre
Short Stories, Humor, Mystery & Thrillers


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 ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.07 · 178,488 ratings · 9,017 reviews · 2,582 distinct works • Similar authors
The Gift of the Magi
4.11 avg rating — 99,080 ratings — published 1905 — 580 editions
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Selected Stories
by
4.17 avg rating — 17,652 ratings — published 1922 — 96 editions
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The Last Leaf
by
4.32 avg rating — 6,639 ratings — published 1907 — 91 editions
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The Ransom of Red Chief
4.15 avg rating — 6,605 ratings — published 1907 — 45 editions
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The Gift of the Magi and Ot...
by
4.12 avg rating — 6,219 ratings — published 1904 — 149 editions
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The Best Short Stories of O...
by
4.26 avg rating — 4,322 ratings — published 1945 — 27 editions
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The Complete Works of O. Henry
by
4.33 avg rating — 1,971 ratings — published 1937 — 84 editions
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Cabbages and Kings
3.93 avg rating — 1,469 ratings — published 1904 — 620 editions
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After Twenty Years
3.94 avg rating — 1,089 ratings — published 1973 — 11 editions
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The Four Million
4.04 avg rating — 868 ratings — published 1906 — 95 editions
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More books by O. Henry…

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49 likes · 18 comments
Quotes by O. Henry  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Each of us, when our day's work is done, must seek our ideal, whether it be love or pinochle or lobster à la Newburg, or the sweet silence of the musty bookshelves.”
― O. Henry
1704 likes
Like

“No friendship is an accident. ”
― O. Henry, Heart of the West
tags: friendship
1313 likes
Like

“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
― O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi
tags: human-condition
771 likes
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Polls

Which 4 Christmas Stories do we want to read as a group? All of the nominations are available online

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

A Country ChristmasLouisa May Alcott
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

The Burglar's ChristmasLouisa May Alcott
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Christmas at Red Butt L.M. Montgomery
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

A Chaparral Christmas Gift byO. Henry
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

The Christmas Present byRichmal Crompton
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

The Romance of a Christmas CardKate Douglas Wiggin
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Life and Adventures of Santa ClausL. Frank Baum
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

0 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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All Games, Nothin...: Initially The Answer Is 13 13 Jun 21, 2011 09:15AM