100 selected stories

With a new Introduction by Professor Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D.

This selection of a hundred of O. Henry x2019;s succinct tales displays the range, humour and humanity of a perennially popular short-story writer.

Here Henry gives a richly colourful and exuberantly entertaining panorama of social life, ranging from thieves to tycoons, from the streets of New York to the prairies of Texas.

These stories are famed for their x2018;trick endings x2019; or x2018;twists in the tail x2019;: repeatedly the plot twirls adroitly, compounding ironies. Indeed, O. Henry x2019;s cunning plots surpass those of the ingenious rogues he creates. His style is genial, lively and witty, displaying a virtuoso x2019;s command of language and allusion.

This great collection offers delights for the mind, imagination and emotions.