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The Ransom of Red Chief & Other Stories by O. Henry
A collection of age-appropriate tales by O. Henry includes "The Ransom of Red Chief," "Gifts of the Magi," "The Furnished Room," "The Guilty Party," and "Brickdust Row."
209 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2005
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80 people want to read
About the author
O. Henry
2,916 books1,871 followersSuch 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 to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
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 to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.
In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.
Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .
In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.
In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.
Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.
People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 19, 2025
Loved these stories. I read them in school. I recently read The Gift of the Magi, which I didn't enjoy as much.
December 19, 2011
The Ransom of Red Chief is fun. I wonder if American boys is like him. Scared!
January 17, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of the stories were absolutely wonderful and then others were a chore. “The Last Leaf” made it worthwhile
July 21, 2019
Probabilmente questa versione dei racconti di Henry risente di un periodo in cui il linguaggio umoristico italiano, per essere tale, sembrava dovesse essere caratterizzato da una certa enfasi. Da qui il mantenere certe costruzioni anglosassoni della frase, come se si fosse in una traduzione interlineare. Anche forse nel tentativo di riportare quello che è pressoché impossibile rendere esattamente in italiano.
May 18, 2020
This is much more than a book of stories for children. This is engaging, deals with life, death, crime, and passion. Really engaging, and I found myself rereading the beginning of stories as I finished them so I could look for more details that I missed the first time through.
January 5, 2025
You won't stop laughing.
January 21, 2025
Hilarious!
May 13, 2025
Simple and delightful. Reminiscent of simpler times filled with laughter and joy.
Stories like these are the perfect panacea for the bluest of blues.
Stories like these are the perfect panacea for the bluest of blues.
January 23, 2023
Come in tutte le raccolte, anche in questa vi sono racconti più belli e coinvolgenti di altri. Quello che rimane, tuttavia, dalla lettura complessiva è l'affascinante atmosfera dell'America dei primi del Novecento.
E' lei, infatti, la vera protagonista. Il paese delle grandi e frenetiche metropoli nelle quali si costruiscono già i primi grattacieli, abitate da un sottobosco di immigrati irlandesi spagnoli e italiani, da barboni e perdigiorno e tutti cercano invariabilmente due cose: i soldi e l'amore.
Ma è anche (ancora) l'America dei banditi, delle cartomanti alle fiere, dei cowboy e degli "indiani", dei generali sudisti in declino.
E già l'America del baseball e della fiorente editoria e purtroppo però anche quella del gioco d'azzardo e del razzismo.
Lo stile di O. Henry è molto particolare. E' scorrevole e diretto, ma anche enfatico e questo, a volte, lo rende un pò datato. I finali dei racconti sono sempre inaspettati e conditi del suo particolare senso dell'umorismo che, andando avanti nella lettura, si impara a conoscere.
"Con la professione che faccio, tutto quel che mi circonda mi appartiene. Io prendo dalla vita quel che voglio, quel che posso, e lo porto in scena".
I titoli dei racconti sono:
Il riscatto di Capo Rosso - La doppiezza di Hargraves - La scienza esatta matrimoniale - Il palmo di Tobin - Maggio, mese dell'amore - La guardia e l'inno - Sociologia tra ricchi e poveri - Tecnicamente, un errore - Le avventure di Shamrock Jolnes - Una "ragazza" - Il filtro d'amore di Ikey Schoenstein - Un sacrificio per la gloria - I segreti di una coppia - Un dominatore d'uomini - Orgoglio cittadino - Il nottambulo.
E' lei, infatti, la vera protagonista. Il paese delle grandi e frenetiche metropoli nelle quali si costruiscono già i primi grattacieli, abitate da un sottobosco di immigrati irlandesi spagnoli e italiani, da barboni e perdigiorno e tutti cercano invariabilmente due cose: i soldi e l'amore.
Ma è anche (ancora) l'America dei banditi, delle cartomanti alle fiere, dei cowboy e degli "indiani", dei generali sudisti in declino.
E già l'America del baseball e della fiorente editoria e purtroppo però anche quella del gioco d'azzardo e del razzismo.
Lo stile di O. Henry è molto particolare. E' scorrevole e diretto, ma anche enfatico e questo, a volte, lo rende un pò datato. I finali dei racconti sono sempre inaspettati e conditi del suo particolare senso dell'umorismo che, andando avanti nella lettura, si impara a conoscere.
"Con la professione che faccio, tutto quel che mi circonda mi appartiene. Io prendo dalla vita quel che voglio, quel che posso, e lo porto in scena".
I titoli dei racconti sono:
Il riscatto di Capo Rosso - La doppiezza di Hargraves - La scienza esatta matrimoniale - Il palmo di Tobin - Maggio, mese dell'amore - La guardia e l'inno - Sociologia tra ricchi e poveri - Tecnicamente, un errore - Le avventure di Shamrock Jolnes - Una "ragazza" - Il filtro d'amore di Ikey Schoenstein - Un sacrificio per la gloria - I segreti di una coppia - Un dominatore d'uomini - Orgoglio cittadino - Il nottambulo.
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September 23, 2008O. Henry's humorous, energetic style shows the influence of Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. The story tells about two kidnappers, who make off with the young son of a prominent man. They find out that the child is a real nuisance. In the end they agree to pay the boy's father to take him back. - "Sam," says Bill, "I suppose you'll think I'm a renegade. but I couldn't help it. I'm a grown person with masculine proclivities and habits of self-defense, but there is a time when all systems of egotism and predominance fail. The boy is gone. I sent him home. All is off. There was martyrs in old times," goes on Bill, "that suffered death rather than give up the particular graft they enjoyed. None of 'em ever was subjugated to such supernatural tortures as I have been. I tried to be faithful to our articles of depredation; but there came a limit."
February 8, 2014
Picked this up after reading "Gift of the Magi", "After Twenty Years", and "A Retrieved Reformation" in classes I was a substitute teacher for. Those were probably the best stories in the collection, but the whole thing is a fun read. O Henry has a great sense of humor, but also does excellent poignant stories.
June 14, 2014
Not just for boys! :-) This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I was not disappointed. I can't believe I hadn't read this before. A real treasure, and beautiful time capsule of historical American culture and dialogue. Very touching and humorous.
October 30, 2007
Hilarious.
January 23, 2008
I love short stories. This is one of my favorite O. Henrys. Another that is more difficult to find is "The Pimienta Pancakes."
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews