O. Henry

This gripping anthology gathers classic American short fiction where deception is an art, truth is perilous, and crime often wears a human smile.

O. Henry wove several stories together into this highly episodic narrative, his only novel, taking his title and inspiration from Lewis Carroll's ballad of the walrus and the carpenter in Through the Looking-Glass. The stories are set in the fictional country of Anchuria in Central America...

Anthony Rockwall has everything wealth can buy—except the certainty that his son will win the heart of the woman he loves. Convinced that money can overcome any obstacle, the self-made millionaire sets out to prove that fortune can accomplish what romance alone cannot.

First published in 1906, The Four Million consists of twenty-five moving short stories based in New York. Each tale showcases the lives of seemingly ordinary people – clerks, waiters, con artists and more – with irony, humour and warmth.

Originally published in a 1905 edition of The New York Sunday World, "The Gift of the Magi" tells the story of a young couple at Christmas when money is tight, offering important insight into the nature of gift giving. A well-known example of comic irony, it has been widely adapted as everything...

The Gift of the Magi is a timeless holiday story that captures the true spirit of giving and love. Written by O. Henry, this heartwarming tale follows a young couple, Jim and Della, who sacrifice their most treasured possessions to buy each other the perfect Christmas gift. Little do they know...

O. Henry was a prolific American short-story writer - a masterof surprise endings - who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New YorkCity. In "The Gift of the Magi," one of his best-known works, a young coupleat Christmas time who, despite having little money, buy secret gifts for...