The Gift of the Magi and Other New York Stories

Table of Contents: The Voice Of The City The Making Of A New Yorker A Retrieved Reformation The Cop And The Anthem The Duplicity Of Hargraves The Gift Of The Magi The Last Leaf The Ransom Of Red Chief The Skylight Room The Trimmed Lamp The Whirligig Of Life A Harlem Tragedy Biography of O. Henry The Gift of the Magi is a story about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. The Cop and the Anthem is about a New York City hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so that he can be a guest of the city jail instead of sleeping out in the cold winter. A Retrieved Reformation tells the tale of safecracker Jimmy Valentine, recently freed from prison. The Duplicity of Hargraves is a short story about a nearly destitute father and daughter's trip to Washington, D.C. The Ransom of Red Chief is a short story, it follows two men who kidnap and attempt to ransom a wealthy Alabaman's son; eventually, the men are driven to distraction by the boy's spoiled and hyperactive behavior, and end up having to pay the boy's father to take him back. William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.