American author William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry (11 September 1862-5 June 1910), was a prolific short-story writer. Adept at handling comic and tragic themes, he used to great effect, both sentiment and surprise endings in his stories. Many of these trace the lives of ordinary New Yorkers who yearn for romance, passion and adventure, brilliantly capturing in the process the rhythms of American life at a time when slavery and the Indian wars were a raw and recent memory. In his first book, he brought to life a colorful cast of characters whose stories unravel against a Honduran setting.
This collection, featuring some of O. Henry’s best stories—‘The Gift of the Magi’, ‘The Last Leaf’, ‘The Skylight Room’, ‘A Municipal Report’ and ‘The Making of a New Yorker’ - showcases his mastery over the medium and the sheer range of his themes.