Other editions of book Roads of Destiny

Few people are familiar with the name William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), but, just as many remember Mark Twain and not Samuel L. Clemens, Porter is well known by the pen name O. Henry. And O. Henry became known as a master of surprise, with witty short stories that trade on wordplay and surprise twist endings that have become standard fare in the century following his death. O. Henry was living the routine life of a young pharmacist who dazzled people with his artistic drawing ability, creativity that successfully translated into literature. At first, O. Henry combined his writing and drawing for satire in The Rolling Stone, a failed venture, but his work helped him get notice around Texas. From there, his witty short stories were nearly as creative as his life, which saw him flee the country before getting arrested and imprisoned for embezzlement, leading to stories being written in settings as different as Honduras and a federal penitentiary. Using a pseudonym to hide the fact he was a prisoner, O. Henry became his best known name, and he used it for hundreds of short stories written between 1902-1910, when he died of cirrhosis of the liver due to heavy drinking.

William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. His stories are known for their surprise endings.William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–88), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–65). William's parents had married on April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.

William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–88), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–65). William's parents had married on April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights, and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary school in 1876. He then enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt continued to tutor him until he was fifteen. In 1879, he started working in his uncle's drugstore and in 1881, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed as a pharmacist. At the drugstore, he also showed off his natural artistic talents by sketching the townsfolk.

A collection of 22 short stories: Roads of Destiny, The Guardian of the Accolade, The Discounters of Money, The Enchanted Profile, "Next to Reading Matter", Art and the Bronco, Phœbe, A Double-dyed Deceiver, The Passing of Black Eagle, A Retrieved Reformation, Cherchez la Femme, Friends in San Rosario, The Fourth in Salvador, The Emancipation of Billy, The Enchanted Kiss, A Departmental Case, The Renaissance at Charleroi, On Behalf of the Management, Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking, The Halberdier of the Little Rheinschloss, Two Renegades & The Lonesome Road

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.