Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early 20th century. Many take place in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitresses, etc. O. Henry's work is wide-ranging, and his characters can be found roaming the cattle-lands of Texas, exploring the art of the con-man, or investigating the tensions of class and wealth in turn-of-the-century New York. O. Henry had an inimitable hand for isolating some element of society and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of language. Some of his best and least-known work is contained in Cabbages and Kings, a series of stories each of which explores some individual aspect of life in a paralytically sleepy Central American town, while advancing some aspect of the larger plot and relating back one to another.

Table of Contents: Cabbages And Kings: The Proem By The Carpenter "Fox-in-the-morning" The Lotus And The Bottle Smith Caught Cupid's Exile Number Two The Phonograph And The Graft Money Maze The Admiral The Flag Paramount The Shamrock And The Palm The Remnants Of The Code Shoes Ships Masters Of Arts Dicky Rouge Et Noir Two Recalls The Vitagraphoscope Heart of the West My Tussle with the Devil by O. Henry's Ghost O Henryana Options Roads of Destiny Rolling Stones Sixes and Sevens Strictly Business The Four Million The Gentle Grafter The Trimmed Lamp The Two Women The Voice of the City Waifs and Strays Whirligigs Biography of O. Henry…

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.