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Tales of O. Henry: 62 Stories
This collection of 62 stories is an introduction to the Father of the American Short Story and covers the full range of O. Henry's humor, irony, and sense of tragedy. Includes "The Gift of the Magi," "Mammon and the Archer," "The Ransom of Mack," "Jimmy Hayes & Muriel," "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen," and more.
565 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 20, 2020
My usual approach to short story collections is to do minor reviews of each one in order to provide a more comprehensive summary of my reactions. But I'm not going to do that for each of the 62 stories compiled in this collection because that would be ridiculous.
Instead, my general thoughts are these: O. Henry likes his twists and is prolific af; he likes America and the growing identity of (white) America. His settings range from New York to Texas to New Orleans to a small island named Coralia. He's also racist and colonialist and sexist, so.
Instead, my general thoughts are these: O. Henry likes his twists and is prolific af; he likes America and the growing identity of (white) America. His settings range from New York to Texas to New Orleans to a small island named Coralia. He's also racist and colonialist and sexist, so.
November 27, 2017
Ok, I admit, I write. And it was the ‘surprises’ in O’Henry’s short stories that inspired me. I’ve written and told stories all through elementary through to today which is a l o n g time. Now, there are dry spells that come along and no ink stains the page. Old friends, like the shorts by O’Henry are great to revisit for a boost of motivation. Favorite shorts of course include The Gift of the Magi. . . A great Christmas tale worth sharing. Some of his stories lend themselves nicely to oral storytelling. . . And yes, I do some of that as well.
Read a short story today and see how long the character lives in your head or picks at your sub conscience pestering you because that IS how characters remain alive, existing in our thoughts. Then you too can write a short story of your own to keep secret or to share. Entertain yourself, read; entertain others, tell a story..
Read a short story today and see how long the character lives in your head or picks at your sub conscience pestering you because that IS how characters remain alive, existing in our thoughts. Then you too can write a short story of your own to keep secret or to share. Entertain yourself, read; entertain others, tell a story..
April 24, 2023
I read these 62 stories at the rate of one story a night, which might be the perfect way to consume O. Henry's tales. I was vaguely familiar with O. Henry from his famous stories like Gift of The Magi but I had no idea he was considered one of the fathers of the short form. His shorts are the perfect length, ranging from eight to twenty pages apiece. The protagonists, setting and themes for each are wildly different. This guy could really write everything from a stockbroker to frontier cowboy and make it authentic.
O. Henry's personal story is also intriguing. He was like the American version of Rimbaud. He led somewhat of a drifter's life, stole money from a bank he worked at and fled to Honduras. After surrendering, he spent several years in prison and then started furiously writing. He eventually drank himself to death.
O. Henry's personal story is also intriguing. He was like the American version of Rimbaud. He led somewhat of a drifter's life, stole money from a bank he worked at and fled to Honduras. After surrendering, he spent several years in prison and then started furiously writing. He eventually drank himself to death.
March 13, 2020
This guy was a comedic genius!
what a writer. everytime you think you figure him out and get how the story is going to go BAM it changes.
this is the writer who wrote
"the gift of the magi" one of the best Christmas stories of all time.
the stories get better and better as you read on, you are so missing out on one of the best wrtiers of the past century, if you have never read him.
this writer was a great story teller one in which many can only hope to be inspired about and try to emulate in their writings. i hope we all start picking up and writing like a man like this the common man with a flare for bringing the humor of life into the pages.
what a writer. everytime you think you figure him out and get how the story is going to go BAM it changes.
this is the writer who wrote
"the gift of the magi" one of the best Christmas stories of all time.
the stories get better and better as you read on, you are so missing out on one of the best wrtiers of the past century, if you have never read him.
this writer was a great story teller one in which many can only hope to be inspired about and try to emulate in their writings. i hope we all start picking up and writing like a man like this the common man with a flare for bringing the humor of life into the pages.
December 31, 2020
O'Henry is a master of setting. He finds a way to express social and cultural environments using nuance and small details from everyday life. The woman dressed as a socialite is betrayed by a tattered rag holding a piece of her dress together, revealing her to be a shop girl trying to fit in with the upper class. These little details show O'Henry's ability to see and interpret both the upper, middle, and lower class. What makes him a great writer is that he finds the lovable and human side to each. He appreciates people despite their flaws and hang-ups...which is useful for someone who may not be perfect.
May 20, 2019
O. Henry is the master of the short story. This book is full of genius stories. I loved every Tale.
October 22, 2019
My introduction to short stories in elementary school so I will always remember how vivid the tales were!
July 3, 2021
“I’m not tied Down to anything that isn’t 8000 Miles in Diameter”
- E. Rushmore Colgan “A Cosmopolitan in a Cafe”
Great words do live by.
Lots of great stories and memorable lines.
- E. Rushmore Colgan “A Cosmopolitan in a Cafe”
Great words do live by.
Lots of great stories and memorable lines.
June 9, 2022
My favorite short fiction author...
July 13, 2023
This was a retelling collection of stories quite entertaining and amusing. Interesting background on the author.
July 18, 2024
I read a few of the O. Henry short stories in school. So, I enjoyed this collection of stories that I had never read. His endings are always something to look forward to.
April 30, 2012
I haven't read this in ages. Known for his mastery of irony, O. Henry is always entertaining. Many are feel-good stories, and the sad ones leave an almost satisfying bitter-sweet aftertaste. The irony, though, gets predictable when one reads over sixty in a row. So… just don't read more than a few before going on to something else. One other small criticism. O. Henry seemed to fall into the same trap as Twain and Dickens in their later careers: they took themselves too seriously. In O. Henry's case, he didn't get political, but philosophical. He wrote irony for so long, he began to write stories that seemed to portray life in inescapable fate. The most notable was his novellette "Roads of Destiny," in which he crafts his story in four different versions with the characters making different decisions, but in the end, the result was always the same. "Bravo" to execution, but I still resent free will's being denied. Again, for enjoyment of plot technique, Henry's a must-read.
December 6, 2015
O.Henry was the pen name of William S. Porter . I don't know how many short stories O.Henry wrote, only that this book contains sixty two. I started reading this collection early this year,,reading a few stories a week. The first story in the book was "The Gift of the Magi"it is one of his most popular stories and as Christmas is coming and the Goose is getting fat, I thought it would be a good time to re-read it. The story tells of a young couple " Jim and Della " who are short of money and both want desperately to buy each other a special Christmas gift. Della sells her most valuable possession,her very long and beautiful hair,to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch. Meanwhile Jim sells his most valuable possession, his watch,to buy a set of jeweled combs for Dellia's hair. In the end they still were able to laugh about it and have a very Marry Christmas. The story is a far cry from the way many of us go into debt to buy far to many gifts in the present time.
April 26, 2012
These stories are amazing! I am not typically a big fan of the short story but this collection by Mr. Porter has made me a fan of his. The wit, the unexpected twist and turns always leaves you with a surprise ending. This is one of the great story tellers and should be an inspiration to anyone who wants to write and does not have a higher education. O. Henry or William Porter never went to college and yet his star shines equal to a Hemingway, Stevenson, or Dickens.
July 23, 2014
Not all of the stories are great. Go to the Wikipedia page of this book and only read those. Would also recommend "The Last Leaf" and "Springtime á la Carte". Other than that, the other stories are hit-and-miss. There's a Sherlock Holmes parody, if you're interested.
March 14, 2008
He is to stories what Norman Rockwell is to paintings - that innocent charm of a bygone era (but with a twist).
OK, how about Twilight Zone, minus eerie and disturbing.
OK, how about Twilight Zone, minus eerie and disturbing.
September 1, 2010
O. Henry's strange dialect left my head spinning at times, but I did enjoy a couple of the 60+ stories.
December 1, 2010
THE master of irony. Fantastic!
June 3, 2012
Nice short stories, all with a clever little twist at the end. Light, enjoyable reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2014
brilliant
June 30, 2014
The expert at story prestidigitation. Very entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews