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Trimmed Lamp, and Other Stories of the Four Million [with Biographical Introduction]
'The Trimmed Lamp & Other Stories' is a short story collection that explores the themes of the human condition and the often mysterious nature of human relationships. Veering on the verge of ordinariness but never becoming so. O. Henry's stories have a knack for transforming the expectations of the reader before the narrative has a chance to grow dull.Replete with sharp wit and a celebration of the English language incorporating unique spins on existing words and expressions. These playful and humourous stories represent a New York-ish social experiment that stands the test of time. American short story master O. Henry is best known for his pithy, witty scores and surprise endings. In doing so he made commonplace experiences extraordinary and memorable. His work has been immortalised in the popular 1952 film 'O. Henry's Full House' starring Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Marilyn Monroe and Jeanne Crain.-
267 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1907
93 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
O. Henry
2,911 books1,869 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 25, 2017
So this started as a buddy read with my favorite non-crunchy pantsless bunch of lunatics......back in December. Whoops.
A few O. Henry stories go a long way. There are a few little gems in this collection, but for the most part, if you've read one of his stories, you've read them all. They all become completely formulaic, and at least for me, they were all quite bland and forgettable after awhile. Character development is almost always zero, and I can't find myself caring about the short little plot after I've finished. Also, WHAT IS UP with the instalove? In almost every single story involving a man and a woman getting together, the man falls head over heels at first sight. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Just because this stuff was written before Twilight was a thing does NOT make this ok. And reading about how these guys drool over some of the girls in these stories was just plain insipid. You would think that Jennifer Love Hewitt plopped right into New York at the turn of the twentieth century clad in a skimpy pink dress.
Or that Sharon Stone appeared in a police interrogation room.
And all the men be like
And I be like
As you can see from my constant updates which rate individual stories (below) most of these weren't hits. And I also don't feel like retyping all my mini reviews, so I will just say, the average rating ended up being 2.34 stars. I'm rounding up to 2.5. I know a lot of my friends enjoyed these stories, but I did not. I still have another collection to get through because I'm a goddamn serial completer. So that's it folks. I don't want to spend another minute with O. Henry. Audrey is OUT.
A few O. Henry stories go a long way. There are a few little gems in this collection, but for the most part, if you've read one of his stories, you've read them all. They all become completely formulaic, and at least for me, they were all quite bland and forgettable after awhile. Character development is almost always zero, and I can't find myself caring about the short little plot after I've finished. Also, WHAT IS UP with the instalove? In almost every single story involving a man and a woman getting together, the man falls head over heels at first sight. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Just because this stuff was written before Twilight was a thing does NOT make this ok. And reading about how these guys drool over some of the girls in these stories was just plain insipid. You would think that Jennifer Love Hewitt plopped right into New York at the turn of the twentieth century clad in a skimpy pink dress.
Or that Sharon Stone appeared in a police interrogation room.
And all the men be like
And I be like
As you can see from my constant updates which rate individual stories (below) most of these weren't hits. And I also don't feel like retyping all my mini reviews, so I will just say, the average rating ended up being 2.34 stars. I'm rounding up to 2.5. I know a lot of my friends enjoyed these stories, but I did not. I still have another collection to get through because I'm a goddamn serial completer. So that's it folks. I don't want to spend another minute with O. Henry. Audrey is OUT.
February 14, 2022
Not one of my favourite O. Henry collections, and I've read them all. Bleaker and less poetic - still, not bad. There are several stories on the theme of - misplaced envy? Misunderstandings about how the other half lives? About, say, a poor guy looking hungry while being full, and a swell guy looking comfortable but secretly starved.
The pinnacle of this is "The Social Triangle", with working-class Ikey Snigglefritz being proud to shake rich Billy McMahan's hand, who is then shown to be proud to shake classy Cortlandt Van Duyckink's hand, who is finally happy upon shaking the hand of - Ikey Snigglefritz.
This reminded me of William Tenn's short story "The Servant Problem", where in a dystopic world, where everything and everyone is controlled by one person and ultimate ruler, except for one person, who secretly rules him, who themselves are secretly beholden to one other person who is totally under control of yet another one, who is enthralled by that very first ruler. "This was the day of complete control" is the story's catchphrase.
The pinnacle of this is "The Social Triangle", with working-class Ikey Snigglefritz being proud to shake rich Billy McMahan's hand, who is then shown to be proud to shake classy Cortlandt Van Duyckink's hand, who is finally happy upon shaking the hand of - Ikey Snigglefritz.
This reminded me of William Tenn's short story "The Servant Problem", where in a dystopic world, where everything and everyone is controlled by one person and ultimate ruler, except for one person, who secretly rules him, who themselves are secretly beholden to one other person who is totally under control of yet another one, who is enthralled by that very first ruler. "This was the day of complete control" is the story's catchphrase.
August 27, 2022
احساس صمیمیت با خواننده و راحتی در نوشتن از ویژگی های این داستانها هستن ولی بعضی از قسمتها تاریخ گذشته و عجیبن
And Jeeves was here!
September 25, 2024
4.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
A collection of short stories set in New York City by O. Henry.
Review
This again is the O. Henry I remember from my youth. Very much along the same lines as The Four Million , these are stories and sketches with a wry sense of humor and at times a satirical outlook.
You can feel O. Henry at times dipping into formula, and there are some stories that feel, not half-hearted, but not labored over either. The remainder do follow the common scheme of The Four Million, but they feel more like keenly observed portraits than formulas. In this collection, O. Henry allows himself a somewhat more directly sardonic critique of human nature. However, there are also stories that are intensely heartfelt and at times heartbreaking.
While this volume feels a little more uneven than its predecessor, I very much recommend it as much for its earnest stories as for its clever ones.
My favorites among the stories were:
“A Madison Square Arabian Night”
“Brickdust Row”
“The Guilty Party”
“A Midsummer Knight’s Dream”
“The Last Leaf”
“The Count and the Wedding Guest”
“Elsie in New York”
Summary
A collection of short stories set in New York City by O. Henry.
Review
This again is the O. Henry I remember from my youth. Very much along the same lines as The Four Million , these are stories and sketches with a wry sense of humor and at times a satirical outlook.
You can feel O. Henry at times dipping into formula, and there are some stories that feel, not half-hearted, but not labored over either. The remainder do follow the common scheme of The Four Million, but they feel more like keenly observed portraits than formulas. In this collection, O. Henry allows himself a somewhat more directly sardonic critique of human nature. However, there are also stories that are intensely heartfelt and at times heartbreaking.
While this volume feels a little more uneven than its predecessor, I very much recommend it as much for its earnest stories as for its clever ones.
My favorites among the stories were:
“A Madison Square Arabian Night”
“Brickdust Row”
“The Guilty Party”
“A Midsummer Knight’s Dream”
“The Last Leaf”
“The Count and the Wedding Guest”
“Elsie in New York”
January 31, 2024
O Henry is a treasure. His stories are Forrest's box of chocolates. You never know if you'll get humour or tragedy or social commentary or a moral lesson. All wrapped up in simplicity. I love his work and am always happy to revisit. This one has some of my favorites... though I couldn't name them.. all his stories get muddled up in my mind as a single diaspora of humans living lives in a single world.
Read
September 11, 2024Qur’an: Chapter 24, Verse 35—
God is the Light of Heaven and Earth!
His light maybe compared to a niche
in which there is a lamp;
the lamp is in a glass;
the glass is just as if it were a glittering star
kindled from a blessed olive tree,
[which is] neither Eastern nor Western,
Whose oil will almost glow though fire has never touched it.
Light upon light,
God guides anyone He wishes to His light.
God composes parables for mankind;
God is Aware of everything!
God is the Light of Heaven and Earth!
His light maybe compared to a niche
in which there is a lamp;
the lamp is in a glass;
the glass is just as if it were a glittering star
kindled from a blessed olive tree,
[which is] neither Eastern nor Western,
Whose oil will almost glow though fire has never touched it.
Light upon light,
God guides anyone He wishes to His light.
God composes parables for mankind;
God is Aware of everything!
March 11, 2024
I read this book on my kindle and didnt know it was o Henry till i finished it. it s hard to believe i said that but a kindle reader can cause problems for me. i kept thinking these are the weirdest stories i have ever read with a strange even forced vocabulary. i don t use the shift key when i type, sorry.
Want to read
August 5, 2012Henry, O.
The Complete Works of O. Henry
In compilation only.
1) The Trimmed Lamp
2) A Madison Square Arabian Night
3) The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball
4) The Pendulum
5) Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlement
6) The Assessor of Success
7) The Buyer from Cactus City
8) The Badge of Policeman O'Roon
9) Brickdust Row
10) The Making of a New Yorker
11) Vanity and Some Sables
12) The Social Triangle
13) The Purple Dress
14) The Foreign Policy of Company 99
15) The Lost Blend
16) A Harlem Tragedy
17) "The Guilty Party"
18) According to Their Lights
19) A Midsummer Knight's Dream
20) The Last Leaf
21) The Count and the Wedding Guest
22) The Country of Elusion
23) The Ferry of Unfulfilment
24) The Tale of a Tainted Tenner
25) Elsie in New York
The Complete Works of O. Henry
In compilation only.
1) The Trimmed Lamp
2) A Madison Square Arabian Night
3) The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball
4) The Pendulum
5) Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlement
6) The Assessor of Success
7) The Buyer from Cactus City
8) The Badge of Policeman O'Roon
9) Brickdust Row
10) The Making of a New Yorker
11) Vanity and Some Sables
12) The Social Triangle
13) The Purple Dress
14) The Foreign Policy of Company 99
15) The Lost Blend
16) A Harlem Tragedy
17) "The Guilty Party"
18) According to Their Lights
19) A Midsummer Knight's Dream
20) The Last Leaf
21) The Count and the Wedding Guest
22) The Country of Elusion
23) The Ferry of Unfulfilment
24) The Tale of a Tainted Tenner
25) Elsie in New York
Want to read
September 27, 2021Read so far:
*The Trimmed Lamp --
A Madison Square Arabian Night --
*The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball --
*The Pendulum --
*Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen --
*The Assessor of Success --
*The Buyer from Cactus City --
*The Badge of Policeman O'Roon --
*Brickdust Row --
*Raggles; or the Making of a New Yorker --
*Vanity and Some Sables --
*The Social Triangle --
*The Purple Dress --
*The Foreign Policy of Company 99 --
*The Lost Blend --
*A Harlem Tragedy --
*The Guilty Party --
According to Their Lights --
*The Count and The Wedding Guest --
The Last Leaf --3
The Country of Elusion --
The Ferry of Unfulfillment --
The Tale of A Tainted Tenner --1
*Elsie In New York --
*The Trimmed Lamp --
A Madison Square Arabian Night --
*The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball --
*The Pendulum --
*Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen --
*The Assessor of Success --
*The Buyer from Cactus City --
*The Badge of Policeman O'Roon --
*Brickdust Row --
*Raggles; or the Making of a New Yorker --
*Vanity and Some Sables --
*The Social Triangle --
*The Purple Dress --
*The Foreign Policy of Company 99 --
*The Lost Blend --
*A Harlem Tragedy --
*The Guilty Party --
According to Their Lights --
*The Count and The Wedding Guest --
The Last Leaf --3
The Country of Elusion --
The Ferry of Unfulfillment --
The Tale of A Tainted Tenner --1
*Elsie In New York --
December 30, 2021
I rescued a copy of the 1915 Doubleday edition from the recycler and read it the last week before break. Most of the stories are cute with a plot twist near the end, but none were particularly memorable. The detail from their era is what really made them feel real.
There is one story that needs a warning (or may have been removed by modern editions) "A Harlem Tragedy". The ending may elicit a smirk, but the bulk of the text is an explicit endorsement of wife beating. A hundred years later, it's hard for any feminist to read, especially when the characters endorsing the abuse are also women. Definitely not worth reading though the rest of the book certainly is.
There is one story that needs a warning (or may have been removed by modern editions) "A Harlem Tragedy". The ending may elicit a smirk, but the bulk of the text is an explicit endorsement of wife beating. A hundred years later, it's hard for any feminist to read, especially when the characters endorsing the abuse are also women. Definitely not worth reading though the rest of the book certainly is.
April 2, 2011
I wasn't quite sure how to rate this collection. Some of the stories were so wonderful that I wanted to immediately run out and tell everyone I knew to read them. But with others, I found myself skimming through them.
So five stars for some stories, less for others, which probably averages out to about three in the end.
So five stars for some stories, less for others, which probably averages out to about three in the end.
October 7, 2014
Love O Henry's use of language, wit & mostly fun twist endings. Some stories in this book were great, particularly loved The Trimmed Lamp & The Two Thanksgivings. Some others were enjoyable but not so good compared to the few stories at the beginning, and sometimes you would expect the ending, expecting the twist.
March 10, 2008
I listened to the audio version from librivox.org
Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought most of these stories were inconsequential. Knowing O. Henry's reputation, I expected a twist at the end of each story. I anticipated too many of them.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought most of these stories were inconsequential. Knowing O. Henry's reputation, I expected a twist at the end of each story. I anticipated too many of them.
November 17, 2017
Vignettes in New York
an uneven collection,
but fun nonetheless.
an uneven collection,
but fun nonetheless.
December 8, 2019
They were ok
The stories were ok. A few I enjoyed reading. Some of them I've heard before like The Last Leaf. Some of the twists were surprising. Some were a little disappointing.
The stories were ok. A few I enjoyed reading. Some of them I've heard before like The Last Leaf. Some of the twists were surprising. Some were a little disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews