O. Henry
1862-1910
Other Works
The Four Million
Heart of the West
Voice of the City
Waifs and Strays
The Collected Works of O. Henry
Surprising Life Using the pen name O. Henry, William Sydney Porter wrote
nearly 300 short stories that brought him worldwide fame. During the two
decades following his death, his stories were more popular than those of any
other American writer. Moreover, the twists and turns of his own life sound
like one of his stories. He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, and
raised by his grandmother and aunt after his mother's death. At 16, he left
school to work in his uncle's drugstore. Later he moved to Texas and
worked on a ranch there. At the age of 25, he married Athol Estes. After the
birth of their child, they moved to Austin, Texas, where Porter became a
bank clerk. Several years after leaving this position, he was suspected of
having embezzled bank funds. Porter fled to Central America to avoid trial.
When he returned to visit his dying wife, he was arrested, convicted, and
jailed for three years. Throughout, he maintained his innocence.
Practice in Prison It was in jail that Porter refined his short story style. When
he came out of prison he was already selling stories to magazines under his
new pen name. Today, the most renowned annual collection of new
American short stories still bears that name—the O. Henry Awards.
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