Aristocracy Versus Hash

Written by O. Henry

Narrated by Maria Tolkacheva

O. Henry, well known in American literature as a master of "short story" genre, was born in 1862. His career started when he began writing for the magazines in New-York.

The first book Cabbages and Kings came out in 1904. After that he published many storybooks. Although O. Henry was very popular, he had problems with alcohol and suffered from cirrhosis and diabetes. O. Henry died in 1910 in New-York.

Original plot, unexpected ending, sarcastic humor - that's what features his works. O. Henry creates a picture of typical American life. His characters are ordinary people wishing for happiness. Here is a humorous story from the Rolling Stones (1912). A poor man is searching for a simple boarding house for his family, but he only finds expensive rooms of aristocrats.

This man doesn't want to pay for someone's title, he only wants a roof over his head and tasty corned beef, what seems impossible in this "high-toned" town. So he goes to drink beer with a reporter he met.

A SmartTouch Media production.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SmartTouch Media
• Release date: Jan 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781467607339

O. Henry

O. Henry (1862-1910) was an American short story writer. Born and raised in North Carolina, O. Henry—whose real name was William Sydney Porter—moved to Texas in 1882 in search of work. He met and married Athol Estes in Austin, where he became well known as a musician and socialite. In 1888, Athol gave birth to a son who died soon after, and in 1889 a daughter named Margaret was born. Porter began working as a teller and bookkeeper at the First National Bank of Austin in 1890 and was fired four years later and accused of embezzlement. Afterward, he began publishing a satirical weekly called The Rolling Stone, but in 1895 he was arrested in Houston following an audit of his former employer. While waiting to stand trial, Henry fled to Honduras, where he lived for six months before returning to Texas to surrender himself upon hearing of Athol’s declining health. She died in July of 1897 from tuberculosis, and Porter served three years at the Ohio Penitentiary before moving to Pittsburgh to care for his daughter. While in prison, he began publishing stories under the pseudonym “O. Henry,” finding some success and launching a career that would blossom upon his release with such short stories as “The Gift of the Magi” (1905) and “The Ransom of Red Chief” (1907). He is recognized as one of America’s leading writers of short fiction, and the annual O. Henry Award—which has been won by such writers as William Faulkner, John Updike, and Eudora Welty—remains one of America’s most prestigious literary prizes.