Untitled Document
 O.
Henry was one of the most famous American short-story writers. His best known books are The
Last Leaf마지막 잎새 and The Gift of the Magi크리스마스 선물. He wrote many other
great short stories including The Green Door녹색
문. He often wrote about the lives of lower-class and middle-class New Yorkers.
O. Henry was born on September 11, 1862 in North Carolina. His original name was William
Sydney Porter. O. Henry was his pen name. Young William loved
reading books very much. But at the age of 15, he left school and
had a number of jobs. As a young man, he moved to Texas and worked
as a bank teller there. In 1895,
he became a newspaper columnist in Texas.
In 1894, cash was found to have gone missing from the bank where he
had worked as a bank teller. When he was called to stand trial, he fled to Honduras
to avoid it. In 1897, he came
back to the U.S. and was sent to jail for three years. However, people
are still not sure if he was really guilty.
While in prison, William started writing
short stories, using his pen name O. Henry. His first story, Whistling
Dick’s Christmas Stocking (1899), appeared in a magazine and
gained huge popularity among readers.
 In 1901,
after his release from prison, O. Henry
moved to New York. The city was the setting for many of his stories.
In 1906, he published The Gift of the
Magi and The Furnished Room가구가 딸린 방. The next year, he wrote his most
famous work The Last Leaf.
O. Henry wrote over 600 stories during his lifetime. He was most famous
for his use of surprise endings. O. Henry
died on June 5, 1910, in New York. Even after his death, his stories
continued to be collected, including Sixes
and Sevens (1911); Rolling Stones (1912); Waifs and Strays (1917);
O. Henryana (1920); Letters to Lithopolis (1922); Postscripts (1923);
and O. Henry Encore (1939).
In 1918, the O. Henry Memorial Awards were established to be given
annually to the best magazine
stories. |
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