O. Henry

O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American short-story writer known for surprise endings and stories of ordinary life.

The Gift of the Magi: A short story about a young married couple who sacrifice their most prized possessions to buy gifts for each other. Its final reversal turns mutual generosity into the defining irony of an O. Henry story.
Surprise ending: A narrative conclusion that sharply revises expectations established earlier in a story. O. Henry’s reputation rests especially on endings that recast preceding events.
William Sydney Porter: The American writer who published short stories under the pen name O. Henry. Porter’s biography anchors the stories published under his better-known name.
Athol Estes: William Sydney Porter’s first wife, who married him in Texas in 1887. Her illness and their marriage formed part of Porter’s personal life before his writing career took off.
O. Henry Award: An annual American prize series recognizing outstanding published short stories. Established in 1919, the awards bear his pen name and honor short fiction.
The Ransom of Red Chief: A comic story in which two kidnappers find their young captive so unruly that they pay his father to take him back. The kidnappers’ plan collapses through an unexpected reversal of power.
Irony: A contrast between an apparent meaning or expectation and the reality that emerges. Situational irony supplies the reversals in many of his best-known plots.
Greensboro, North Carolina: A city in North Carolina where William Sydney Porter was born in 1862. Porter’s early life began in Greensboro before he moved west and later settled in New York.
Sara Lindsey Coleman: William Sydney Porter’s second wife, whom he married in 1907. Their marriage came during the years when O. Henry was a celebrated New York author.
O. Henry twist: A plot reversal that unexpectedly changes the meaning of a story’s events. The phrase reflects the association between his name and surprise endings.

Linked from 4 pages