Dec 23, 2009

The Oxford Companion to English Literature | Henry, O.

Henry, O. , pseudonym of William Sydney Porter ( 1862 – 1910 ),
American short story writer, born in North Carolina. He had a chequered early career, which included a term in prison for embezzlement ( 1896 ). He began to write short stories in prison, based on his observations of life, and published the first of his many collections, Cabbages and Kings, in 1904 . He was prolific, humorous, and highly ingenious, especially in his use of coincidence, and became the most famous writer of his kind of the day.