Heart of the West is a collection of 19 short stories highlighting the complicated relationship between men and women, law and order, honor and obligation. These compelling tales are filled with memorable characters and fascinating conflicts. In Heart of the West, O. Henry explores the illustrious region featuring cowboys, outlaws, rangers and sheepherders. It consists of 19 short stories celebrating the unique culture and happenings in the Old West....

Roads of Destiny (1909) is a collection of short stories by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive and in prison, these stories address themes of crime, poverty, and fate. "A Retrieved Reformation," perhaps the most notable of the collection's twenty-two stories, is semi-autobiographical in that it explores the life of a criminal and fugitive who maintains a moral identity while struggling to adjust to life outside of...

From America's favorite storyteller: A rich selection of twenty-five tales by the author of "The Gift of the Magi." Writing under the pseudonym O. Henry, William Sydney Porter was an incredibly prolific and popular master of the short story in the early twentieth century. His stories are known for being witty, playful, full of plot twists, and marked by surprise endings. The author had a special fondness for New York City and a deep interest and appreciation...

The Gentle Grafter (1907) is a collection of fourteen short stories by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive and prisoner, these tales follow the escapades of two professional con artists whose humor and storytelling ability illuminate the nature of wealth and crime in early twentieth century America. In "Modern Rural Sports," con-man Jeff Peters recalls a job in a rural Western town where, in need of money, he devised...

Here are sixteen of the best stories by one of America's most popular storytellers. For nearly a century, the work of O. Henry has delighted readers with its humor, irony and colorful, real-life settings. The writer's own life had more than a touch of color and irony. Born William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862, he worked on a Texas ranch, then as a bank teller in Austin, then as a reporter for the Houston "Post." Adversity struck,...

This collection includes some of O. Henry's best stories, featurd here: 1) Strictly Business 2) The Gold that Glittered 3) Babes in the Jungle 4) The Day Restaurant 5) The Fifth Wheel 6) The Poet and the Peasant 7) The Robe of Peace 8) The Girl and the Graft 9) The Call of the Tame 10) The Unknown Quantity 11) The Thing's the Play 12) A Ramble in Aphasia 13) A Municipal Report 14) Psyche and the Pskyscraper 15) A Bird of Bagdad 16) Compliments of...

Two men kidnap a mischievous boy and request a large ransom for his return.

A collection of twenty-three short stories, including "The gift of the magi," and "The voice of the city."