100 Selected Stories

by O. Henry

This collection of 100 of O Henry's finest stories is a showcase for the sheer variety of one of America's best and best-loved short story writers The variety of the stories is amazing; O Henry is as at home describing life south of the Rio Grande as he is chronicling the activities and concerns of 'the four million' ordinary citizens who inhabited turn-of-the-century New York. They are marked by coincidence and surprise endings as well as the compassion and high humour that have made O Henry's stories popular for the last century.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Literature, American, Literary Fiction, Fantasy

768 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

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 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.

Reviews

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂]

I'm thinking this book (at a whopping 735 pages) might be a good project for next year.

But I have just read The Gift of the Magi for the Retro Reads Group. As soon as I started this short story, I remembered it. Many years ago I did a creative writing course. My tutor was a big Henry fan & read this story & The Ransom of the Red Chief to the class as examples of beautifully written humorous short stories. knowing the punchline didn't stop me falling in love with this short story & it's message of love & giving being more important than receiving. Heart warming & heart felt. 5★.



Project Time

January 2018
A Cosmopolite in a Cafe Well I learned a new word! This story is warm, witty & timeless. 4★
Between Rounds A funny & fond telling of a world Henry knew well. 4★
The Skylight Room This one touched my heart 4.5★



February 2018
A Service of Love Very similar to The Gift of the Magi& also very timeless! 5★
The Coming Out of Maggie Yes I know it is a product of it's time but I couldn't enjoy this one - mainly because of the casual racism. 1★



June 2018
The Coming Out of Maggie left such a bad taste in my mouth, that it has taken me a while to get back to this book. Anyway...

The Cop and the Anthem The wit that Henry is known for! I laughed my socks off! 5★
Memoirs of a Yellow Dog I think I missed a few colloquialisms in this one, although I did smile a couple of times. Really twee! 2.5★
The Love-philtre of Ikey Shoenstein More of Henry's humour with a twist! 5★
Mammon & the Archer Sooo tongue-in-cheek & quirky. Loved it 5★
Springtime a la Carte Witty & rather sweet. Unlikely too, but Henry pulls it off 4.5★
From the Cabbie's Seat One of the quirky twist Henry's that I usually enjoy - but not this time. Something seemed a little off - pacing, attitude. Don't know. 2★



October 2019
I've had another long break from this book. The door stop size makes it hard to carry around. But I have just read three delightful stories from it.
An Unfinished Story Just so sad. Such a drab life and an unpleasant future is foretold. 5★
Sisters of the Golden Circle I found this one funny and quirky - certainly would have felt differently if I was James! 5★
The Romance of a Busy Broker Yes, it does have a great twist, but I'm wondering if the stockbroker had early onset Alzheimers I'd be really worried for this pair's future! 4★

[Vishal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always have time for a short story collection by a single author, especially when they showcase a broad spectrum of subject, characters and emotions. O Henry can certainly be considered a master of the form, and there’s even a short story prize named after him.

Getting through 100 stories in just under 3 weeks is a feat I am quite proud of! OK it's testament to the time I have on my hands, but also how quickly O Henry’s storytelling moves the reader along, gripping you with expert building of dramatic tension and a masterful dropping of relevant clues that keep you guessing, and make for glorious (or ironic, or vindicatory) twists at the end of the story.

He covers an electric range of topics: from romance to deception to family feuds to bank robberies, war, romance and even the Wild West. His twists range from the satisfying to the darkly ironic to the poignant and heartwarming, or just laugh out loud (yes I’m one of those introverted nutters you see on the subway chuckling and beaming into a book) hilarious. His narrators can range from cowherds to cowmen, to freedom fighters and even dogs!

Some stories like The Municipal Report are considered among the best American short stories ever written. I particularly enjoyed Roads of Destiny, which for its time must have been quite groundbreaking, developing a character’s fate for three different scenarios when he reaches a fork in the road and takes a different direction each time. The Social Triangle can be considered in the same vein, one for those Inarritu-type stories where parallel lives interconnect.

My only gripe would be the archaic vocabulary used that had me grasping for my Merriam-Webster at every opportunity, and his outdated, blatantly racist views towards, well, anyone who isn’t white.

The collection finishes on a chilling note, with the unfinished The Dream, a haunting and somber diversion from O Henry’s usually lighthearted fare, a story of a man on Death Row who dreams of a different fate, unsure if his reality lies in prison or in the warmth of domestic bliss with his wife and children. The manuscript was found incomplete on O Henry’s desk after his death, and unlike his other stories, we can only guess what expertly crafted twist this one was going to take.

[Pewterbreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd be lying if I claimed that I read every single story in this volume--that would take nearly a lifetime. But do I have a love for O. Henry! His stories are the perfect comfort food for a rainy day. Once you get beyond the 19th century trappings--he's got a wonderful cozy chair feel that's sort of like watching your favorite brainy sitcom. Sometimes he can be a bit mawkish, but even that's forgivable, because his scope is so delightful.
O. Henry doesn't write for depth so much as breadth, he has a knack for making the simplest actions funny and memorable--my favorite story has a couple who just got married playing with their Hansom Cab, pretending that she's a lady about town. It's just the sort of thing some lovely couple would do. Every scene is full of Norman Rockwell style Americana, and though he doesn't do any dark writing, he shows humanity just full of quirks and (mostly) benign trickery.
Going on a plane trip? Going to a cabin? This book is perfect for both.

[Ananya Ghosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading short stories and so I picked it up just when I laid my eyes on it. But lately, I have been a snail paced reader and this being a library issue, I had to return it unfinished. I only got to read a couple of the early stories and all of them were brilliant. I have loved O. Henry's short stories since I have read them in my school syllabi, and I loved it so much I'm planning on buying a copy and enjoying the stories at a slow and steady pace. I highly recommend this.

[Andrew Ma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've heard most of the stories before...so it wasn't that good.

[charlotte c-r.]

not gonna lie, didn’t read all of them

[رِناد · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book embodies the quote: “Literature is also a form of time travel that helps put today in context.”
I read it for being a literature student at the first place, it wasn’t planned for but these pleasant stories had a considerable role of saving me during quarantine.. Thanks O.henry!
I read almost half of this unique book and decided to save the other half till another time, because sometimes the good book is not easy to find.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having reached page 350, I’ve had enough and am giving up. It isn’t that O. Henry is a bad writer, that the stories aren’t well crafted, or that I object to long books in principle. This collection is simply too lengthy. One hundred short stories absolutely bury the reader. It is very difficult to make it through a book of more than 700 pages with no continuity, only a series of fragments. I am not generally a fan of short stories anyway, with the huge exception of those by Borges. I was given this book as a present, so felt I had to give it a good try. I have, and it has been quite rewarding, but persisting seems like it would be masochistic.

O. Henry’s stories mostly take place in urban milieus, especially New York, around the time that the 19th century became the 20th. He has an eye for peculiar incidents and interactions, which illustrate how society adapted to unprecedented urbanisation and economic transformation. In particular, I noticed the stories often show how urban spaces provide new opportunities for women whilst also condemning and sometimes endangering them for taking advantage of such opportunities. The differences between experiences of poverty for men and women, as well as single and married women, are adroitly shown. In other words, there is a lot of depressing sexism, including some frankly unpalatable romance and one very unpleasant story that glorifies domestic violence. I wouldn’t say that I found O. Henry’s stories funny as such, although he had some excellent turns of phrase. His wordplay is quite distinctive: ‘Several of us met over spaghetti and Dutchess County chianti, and swallowed indignation with the slippery forkfuls.’ He also expanded my vocabulary with words like ‘eleemosynary' (charitable) and ‘cosmopolite’ (citizen of the world).

As little postcards from a vanished past, the stories are for the most part charming and well-drawn. Their quality and tone remains remarkably consistent. They are so brief and so many, though, that the reader is left with little to cling to. If you’re collecting stories that are on average seven pages in length, I really think that thirty or forty would more than suffice for a book. I respect O. Henry’s productivity, though. Very impressive.

[Godly Gadfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master of the ironic twist. (5 stars)

A collection of 100 or more short stories by O. Henry? My mouth waters already! It’s hard to imagine any literary treat that can be enjoyed in small doses more pleasurable than this. I have spent over a year savouring these stories, reading them one by one, tasting his delightful choice of words, digesting his fascinating story-lines, and the warm satisfying afterglow that comes after a typical twist at the end. O. Henry began writing short stories as a prison inmate, and he quickly fine tuned his skills behind the bars and developed into an excellent storyteller. Born William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), he produced 270 stories under the pseudonym O. Henry. His stories are superbly outstanding in at least four ways, each illustrated with five of my personal favorites.

Firstly, his brilliant use of language. These stories were written in the first half of the twentieth century, and O. Henry's use of language easily surpasses that of most contemporary writers. Not only does he have an extensive vocabulary, but his writing abounds with similes and metaphors that breathe sparkling life and depth into his stories, marred only by the occasional “Lordy”. “Ulysses and the Dogman” is a fine example of his skills with a language, metaphorically portraying dog owners as victims of Circe, in a hopeless enchantment to their leashed pets. Also exemplary is “Madame Bo-Peep of the Ranches” where a ranch manager has a heart fenced by barbwire just like the ranch on which he lives, and yet the twist at the ending suggests that perhaps we were completely mistaken. “A Comedy in Rubber” uses wonderfully elevated language to farcically portray a class of people today known as ambulance chasers. And “Sisters of the Golden Circle” revolves around the profound bond that exists between two married women who are strangers but yet sisters “of the plain gold band.” “An Unfinished Story” employs profound metaphors of angelic hosts to tell the tragic story of poor Dulcie’s struggle for survival.

Secondly, his unique insight into the social conditions of his time. O. Henry has a great understanding of the trials of the lower class, and he frequently pictures the lives of ordinary people of early twentieth century America with warm and sympathetic colours. His characters are frequently the overlooked: the struggling shop girl, the unsuccessful artist, the impoverished. Admittedly, some of his images can be hard to comprehend for modern readers, and the distance that time has placed between us and O. Henry’s beloved New York means that some of his verbal pictures will be harder to understand and identify with. But his genuine sympathy for the oppressed cannot be missed. “The Gift of the Magi” is the signature O. Henry story, probably his most famous tale which recounts a poor young couple who both give up a prized possession in order to purchase a gift for one another – but ironically a gift intended to complement the other’s prized possession that they have just given up. Another story which display his ability to picture the social conditions of his time – but always with the trademark twist – is “The Pendulum”, a wonderful portrait of the daily routines of an poor couple and the bursting anxiety of a married man, until the bubble bursts. “The Cop and the Anthem” was the first O. Henry story I ever read, and humorously recounts the unsuccessful attempts of a man to get into jail for the winter – it remains vivid in my mind as a memorable favorite. “The Furnished Room” is a tragic and shocking story of suicide, depicting the depths of despair and desperation of the impoverished.

Thirdly, his warm humour. O. Henry has an uncanny ability to portray the mundane and the ordinary in the most elevated language. Frequently he pits two characters together in a remarkable way so that one outshines and complements the other. And on other occasions he crafts the most ingenious and humorous schemes for outwitting others. One of his most popular stories is “The Handbook of Hymen”, recounting the tale of two men in a winter cabin, one armed with the hilarious Herkimer’s handbook of Indispensable Information. And then there is O. Henry’s fictional character Jeff Peters, a man who comes with the most ingenious money-making schemes, two shining examples displayed in “Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet” and “The Exact Science of Matrimony”. “Let Me Feel Your Pulse” pokes fun at doctors, while in “Next to Reading Matter” an overly eloquent character wins the heart of a senora with streams of articulate talk about the mundane.

Fourthly, his ironic twist. One of the distinctive characteristics of O. Henry's short stories is the ironic twist at the end, which never fails to surprise and entertain, sometimes reversing the entire story line in a concluding one-liner. O. Henry's suspense and trademark ironic twist ensures that readers who have a good literary taste in short stories will not be disappointed. Like the Jeff Peters stories, “The Love-philtre of Ikey Schoenstein” also feature a brilliant scheme – but a scheme of romance – and the way it backfires is unforgettable. Other delightful examples of ordinary stories with a glorious ironic twist include “Witches’ Loaves” and “While the Auto Waits”. The twist that comes at the end of “The Hypotheses of Failure” is so perplexing, that you’ll have to re-read the entire story after reading the ending – but completely delighted at the way in which O. Henry has misled you. But perhaps one of O. Henry’s best uses of the ironic twist comes in “The Last Leaf”, a warm and tragic tale describing how a dying artist proves as resilient as the last leaf on the wall outside, and through the self-less sacrifice of another.

The Wordsworth collection is superlative, because it contains more than 700 pages of literary gems. It consists of 100 stories, showcasing a wide range of O. Henry’s short-story talents. A few popular favorites are missing, such as “Schools and Schools”, “Shearing the Wolf”, “The Green Door”, and “The Pimienta Pancakes.” But the reality is that nearly all O. Henry’s stories feature his trademark ironic twist, as they do his warm humour, his unique insight into the social conditions of the time, and his brilliant use of language, and that every story in this collection is a literary delight worthy of inclusion. The inaccessibility of some references for modern readers does not prevent these stories from being always entertaining and enduring! Don't pass up on these!

[Stephan · Rating 3 out of 5]

O. Henry’s short stories are filled with morals and human compassion. Destiny, karma law, and free will often intermingle with a twist or an element of surprise. Like Chekov many of the messages of O. Henry appeal to the love of humanity and call for social justice and equality. My favorite story was a heartbreaking story called ‘Roads of Destiny’ (If you are a poet then you must read it). Great collection.

[Miloš Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic, a must read for all short fiction fiends.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

O Henry why must you be so sesquipedalian?

[Timo · Rating 1 out of 5]

O. Henry was beter in het vinden van woorden dan in het schrijven van verhalen. Zijn sfeerschetsen zijn vaak pover, zijn personages te weinig uitgewerkt en de plot dunnetjes. Elk goed – en vooral minder goed! – idee werd door hem in zoveel mogelijk verhalen aangewend. Al deze tekortkomingen probeerde hij te verhullen door ingewikkelde woorden te gebruiken. Dan lees je beter een woordenboek.

Ik heb er spijt van dat ik de volledige 735 pagina’s van deze bundel heb gelezen. Het begint allemaal best oké, met wat charmante verhaaltjes uit New York (waarbij vooral 'The Skylight Room' en 'Springtime à la Carte' me konden bekoren). Op een bepaald moment besloot O. Henry om te schrijven over oplichters: ik heb nog nooit zulke saaie vertelsels gelezen! Het ergst is echter wat hij schreef over het Zuiden van de Verenigde Staten en zijn nobele bewoners. De nobele witte bewoners. Ik had het moeten weten: dit boek loopt uiteindelijk over van het racisme. Bah!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, light-hearted stuff that's easy to digest. Reading them now is less enjoyment and more of an appreciation I'd say. They've just lost their bite somewhat with age. I'm sure some of the more cheeky stories were a laugh riot back in the 1800s, for example. Now they're just mildly amusing on a good day. You can still respect the writing here though as I said. The stories all feel like they're written by a deft hand.

It's an easy collection to kill some time with. It's my "lunch break book" currently, and might stay that way. Aside from some of the old-timey dialect, it's easy to read one or two stories in a very short time. You can also find this book for about five bucks, and it's a thousand pages, so the value is better than almost any book out there if you want to give points for that sort of thing.

[Justin Bumgarner · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't read a bunch of these stories in one sitting, you have to read one, maybe two, and step away for a bit and come back. Which sucks because while the stories are all pretty short, 100 pretty short stories still add up to over 700 pages.

The stories themselves are all pretty cheesy and the writing style didn't age very well. Doesn't mean some of the stories aren't good or even that I didn't like them, I'd say I liked about 25 or so if I had to guess, it just is what it is. Cheesy, dated things are ok some times.

Anyways, this book will get donated and I'll probably never read another thing by O. Henry, mainly because I feel 100 stories is enough to hear from him.

[Charles Fraser]

I'll have to call the author O'Henry (unoriginal I'm sure) for the sheer volume of characters in New York stories that have Irish names or background.

One of the more unusual stories features Mrs Fink who becomes jealous of her neighbour, Mrs Cassidy, whose husband has a habit of beating her viciously on Saturdays after he's been drinking. The cut and bruised Mrs Cassidy tells Mrs Fink that her husband is very sweet to her the rest of the week. Mrs Fink starts thinking that her husband doesn't care for her because he never beats her up. The story develops from there.

[Rupert Grech · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the best thing about this book was the interesting introduction. I did not like most of these stories and ended up skimming through many of them. They appeared amateurish: thin plots with largely predictable endings, silly dialogue, supercilious humour, caricatures rather than characters and a verbose writing style which seemed to gratuitously include obscure and inappropriate vocabulary in an attempt to sound intellectual.

[Kirthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rating is more for the writing of O.Henry than for the book itself. Got through 12 short stories in this voluminous book. O.Henry has some of the brilliant short stories crafted with amazing humor.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read enough of these to know that they are darn good. Well written and frequently with a surprise ending.

[ERIC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of Ohenry stories in one nice paperback for 5 bucks - you can't beat it. Great quick stories all together - definitely a bedstand reader!

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

a perfect collection of short stories of all kinds: romance, detective, and adventures. Loved it and cherished it as bed-time reading.

[Aswathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gift Of The Maggie, The Cop And The Anthem, The Last Leaf.................................................................................................

[Barbara Ruuska · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was worth reading all 100 stories. Some were better than others. Each story brings the reader quickly into the story and gives us a immediate picture of the plot.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vast collection of stories that run the gauntlet from sublime to absolute tripe.

[Harwinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Kealan O'ver · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 short stories from the late 19th/early 20th. Some hit the mark. Some don’t.

[Srividya Kasim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book contains 100 beautiful short stories written by O Henry, who is famous for his pieces written ironically. This was one of the best short story collection books that I have read so far and wish there were more stories so I can experience each story. Every single story in this book has impacted me in some sort of way and left me with different emotions; love, curiosity, sadness and many more. The author has somehow created the characters to be perfect for the story like a poor couple trying to buy each other amazing gifts and sacrificing their most favourite possessions. in some twisted way, I wanted to be in the story and be one of those characters. If your reading this book and you love short stories, this is definitely the book for you.

[Aleka Morgan, Lady of Gondor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the way he makes me think twice. Often thrice. :)
My favorite is "Madame Bo-peep of the Ranches".

[Dhanvant · Rating 5 out of 5]

O. Henry is hands down one of the best storytellers ever and I wanted to read him since the first time I read one of his masterpieces "The Last Leaf".
This collection contains some of the best of O. Henry stories some good, some very and some simply great. It's like experiencing to live in so many different worlds and to feel emotions of so many different human beings.

Although all the stories are good and enjoyable these are the stories that I love from this collection:

The Gift of Magi
The Skylight Room
A Service of Love
The Cop and the Anthem
The Furnished Room
Telemachus, Friend
Brickdust Row
The Last Leaf
The Man Higher Up
A Tempered Wind
The Day Resurgent
The Poet and the Peasant
A Ramble in Aphasia
A Municipal Report
The Third Ingredient
The Head Hunter
Jimmy Hayes and Muriel
The Door of Unrest
Transformation of Martin Burney
A Double-dyed Deceiver
A Retrieved Reformation
Two Renegades
While the Auto Waits
One Thousand Dollars
The Memento
A Blackjack Bargainer
The Marionettes

This book has some of the most beautiful, some of the funniest and some of the most touching portrayals of life. It is completely worth reading. :)

[Tuong Cao · Rating 4 out of 5]

On of the best books I read in 2013. Yes, it is old, it is classic, but the stories can entertain one at any time, at any place. In comparison, the book is like a gigantic panoramic masterpiece with lives interwoven, creating the light and dark sides of American society in 1800s. Comical, sad, hysterically funny, moving, charismatic, and often sarcastic, O.Henry's use of words is of the master. I literally lived through all of my emotions while reading this book. Best of all, if you are a busy person who struggle to keep up with a long-running storyline, you can enjoy this book bit by bit and it is still amazing. Highly recommend.