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New Yorkers: Short Stories
A housewife, a tramp, a lawyer, a waitress, an actress - ordinary people living ordinary lives in New York at the beginning of this century. The city has changed greatly since that time, but its people are much the same. Some are rich, some are poor, some are happy, some are sad, some have found love, some are looking for love. O. Henry's famous short stories - sensitive, funny, sympathetic - give us vivid pictures of the everyday lives of these New Yorkers.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1901
About the author
O. Henry
3,001 books1,982 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 - 30 of 69 reviews
August 16, 2017
When he (o.Henry) died, he had only twenty-three cents in his pocket, and his last words were:
"Turn up the lights! I don t want to go home in the dark."
"Turn up the lights! I don t want to go home in the dark."
January 31, 2019
3.5 stars. This book was very easy to understanding as I'm learning English by myself since middle 2016 and the stories were retold and adapted. But I liked the stories and I'll search for more O. Henry's short stories at Project Gutenberg and LibriVox (public domain audiobooks).
September 19, 2017
خمسة قصص ،الرابط الوحيد فيما بينها المدينة الأمريكية الشهيرة نيويورك التي يجتمع في أرضها الفقير والمتشرد والنبيل وكل أصناف الناس .
لا أعرف الكثير عن كاتب القصص( أو هنري ) لكن سأود بأن أعرفه عنه أكثر .
أكثر قصة أعجبتني قصة الذكرى وهي تريد أن تخبرنا بأن الرجال يبحثون عن شهوتهم حتى ولو وجودوا طريق الحلال .
لا أعرف الكثير عن كاتب القصص( أو هنري ) لكن سأود بأن أعرفه عنه أكثر .
أكثر قصة أعجبتني قصة الذكرى وهي تريد أن تخبرنا بأن الرجال يبحثون عن شهوتهم حتى ولو وجودوا طريق الحلال .
July 1, 2020
Extravagant short stories by Great Author !
One would read then....amuse...... enjoy..... learn !
Publisher has taken these 5 short stories from ocean of O. Henry, Though I had read many other stories as well from the same author, these five are wonderful and marvelous.
1. The Christmas Presents
2. Soapy's Choice
3. A Walk in Amnesia
4. Tildy's Moment
5. The Memento
What kind of people lived in New York at the
beginning of the twentieth century? Are New Yorkers
different now from a hundred years ago? Cities grow
bigger with the years, new buildings are put up and old
buildings are pulled down, horses are replaced by cars
and buses, fashions change. But people do not change.
The New Yorkers in these stories are very different
from each other, but the hopes of a tramp are as
important as the hopes of a lawyer; the love of a
waitress is as exciting as the love of an actress. And we
see that people's hopes and fears and dreams do not
change with the years
One would read then....amuse...... enjoy..... learn !
Publisher has taken these 5 short stories from ocean of O. Henry, Though I had read many other stories as well from the same author, these five are wonderful and marvelous.
1. The Christmas Presents
2. Soapy's Choice
3. A Walk in Amnesia
4. Tildy's Moment
5. The Memento
What kind of people lived in New York at the
beginning of the twentieth century? Are New Yorkers
different now from a hundred years ago? Cities grow
bigger with the years, new buildings are put up and old
buildings are pulled down, horses are replaced by cars
and buses, fashions change. But people do not change.
The New Yorkers in these stories are very different
from each other, but the hopes of a tramp are as
important as the hopes of a lawyer; the love of a
waitress is as exciting as the love of an actress. And we
see that people's hopes and fears and dreams do not
change with the years
Read
November 12, 2015خوب :-) :-)
July 16, 2018
Would i say an inspiring book? No.
Positive? No.
Learning something from it? No.
At least plot-twists are full of surprises
Positive? No.
Learning something from it? No.
At least plot-twists are full of surprises
August 11, 2020
the best one of Oxford bookworms library until this moment
December 20, 2021
kind of cheating to hit my yearly goal but this was a fantastic collection of stories. the author nails the invisible string that ties new yorkers together and i could write a whole essay on the stories here and how they sum up humanity so beautifully. very accessible pieces, too. really loved <3
May 26, 2022
*3.5
i liked this book and how it showed a little bit of people’s lives even though not only new yorkers live like that but it was still good
i liked this book and how it showed a little bit of people’s lives even though not only new yorkers live like that but it was still good
July 13, 2018
I love O. Henri's short stories, but in this book, the last one wasn't as good as the others, therefore 4 stars.
June 30, 2020
Historias cortas, perfectas para alguien que empieza a leer en inglés. Me gustaron mucho. Sus tramas no eran muy complicadas, entonces me dejaba que me concentre bien en leer, entender y aprender alguna palabra nueva en inglés.
Me agradaron las historias, alguna que otra graciosa. Hay una sola que no me agradó, la segunda si no me falla la memoria.
Lo leí para mis clases de inglés y lo he disfrutado.
Me agradaron las historias, alguna que otra graciosa. Hay una sola que no me agradó, la segunda si no me falla la memoria.
Lo leí para mis clases de inglés y lo he disfrutado.
November 11, 2011
Che bella sorpresa, questi racconti! Mi hanno ricordato quelle storie che leggevo da bambina sul sussidiario: semplici, pulite, a volte malinconiche e con un finale ad effetto. "A walk in amnesia", ha lo stesso tema di fondo del Mattia Pascal di Pirandello, ma è meno doloroso: "if you want to be happy, you must be free".
May 1, 2008
this book consists of five stories that I like the second one.
January 22, 2020
I really liked the plot twists in the stories — except on the fourth one, made complete no sense to me — and the way that they were written. The first story is the most cute thing I’ve seen. 🤍
October 5, 2019
Very interesting short stories from William Sydney Porter. The lives of ordinary people, like a poor housewife wanting to give a present for her husband, a tramp trying to go to jail to stop living in the cold streets, a lawyer trying to run away from his normal life. They all have particular endings, from a great author.
September 18, 2022
I already knew the first two stories. They weren't beneficial in any way but I loved the plot twists especially the last one, which was the only one that made me laugh. It was very simple and easy to understand but then again there are better short stories for sure if you ask me.
P.s. It was very predictable.
P.s. It was very predictable.
August 28, 2019
It’s just a few of his stories. But some that I really enjoy. Literally found this version seems like it’s for middle or high schooler.
December 25, 2019
This is the first time i have known about O.Henry's biography. Poor him. But his stories are really nice.
April 14, 2021
I was reading this book for improve my English but even i don't think i'll like this book.
Actually i wasn't wrote review or rate this shortened books but this time i enjoyed with this book, so i'm here. I rated the book and I'm writing a review for this.
Also the language of the book is very simple and understandable.
Actually i wasn't wrote review or rate this shortened books but this time i enjoyed with this book, so i'm here. I rated the book and I'm writing a review for this.
Also the language of the book is very simple and understandable.
January 4, 2022
Fue una interesante antología
February 3, 2022
Easy to understand. I liked reading these short stories.
June 6, 2022
No se porque ponen cosas tan aburridas en los insultos
July 7, 2022
Enjoyed.👌
October 15, 2022
كتاب الهدف من قرائته تطوير الانجليزية لكن بنفس الوقت استمتعت فيه.. الكتاب يحوي مجموعة قصص عددها 5 والرسومات تعطي جو وبس خلاص انقلع
كتاب ورقي استعارة من مطوع الفصل بدر فائز باجميل
كتاب ورقي استعارة من مطوع الفصل بدر فائز باجميل
January 9, 2023
Easy to understand, short read. It is good for the beginners to read in English. I didn’t like it much, but I read it to improve my language.
Hope you like it :)
Hope you like it :)
July 14, 2023
Nice different short stories
March 27, 2024
Very easy-to-read but provoke thinking stories
January 24, 2022
Very interesting short stories regarding New Yoorkers a hundred years ago.
October 17, 2016
nice littel book with simple language very good to learn english
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews