Introduction

The author of the book

William S. Porter ‘O. Henry’

(1862~1910)

The well-known name O. Henry is a pseudonym for William S. Porter, and, according to some sources, it was the name of his cat, too.

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he had a hard time growing up, as he worked a number of jobs since his parents died when he was young. In 1896, he was convicted of embezzlement and served a three-year prison term. While in prison, he started writing short stories based on his own experiences. He moved to New York after being released from prison, and then he began writing in earnest. He wrote around 300 short stories in the ten years after he moved to New York. In many of his well-known works, like The Last Leaf and The Gift of the Magi, he described the joys and sorrows or regular, everyday people and the poor living in the back streets of New York and in the southern parts of the United States.

His works contain humor, wit, and pathos, and they show his deep insights into human psychology and feelings. His clever conceptions, artful plots, and surprise endings also show his talent as a writer and his rich imagination.

The Last Leaf is a story about a lady who becomes ill with pneumonia. She loses her will to live and is just waiting to die. But, an old artist who lives in the same building paints a leaf for her, and she survives. Johnsy and Sue, who want to be artists, live together in an old apartment in New York. Johnsy, who becomes ill, believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window, she will die...

The Cop and the Anthem uses irony to show how Soapy, who is homeless, gets put in jail. As it gets colder and colder, Soapy, who is homeless and living in Madison Square, is thinking about how to get to prison to spend the winter there...

After Twenty Years is about two friends who keep their promise to meet each other again after twenty years. Bob and Jimmy promise to meet each other again twenty years after they pave their ways in life. Bob, who has great success in the west, comes back to the place to meet and wait for Jimmy...