O. Henry

O. Henry, whose real name is William Sydney Porter, is a great American author. He married Athol Estes Roach and obtained a job at the bank. However, he was involved in the embezzlement, in which he stole money entrusted to one. Although he was sent to the prison for three years, he worked as a night druggist and published stories with his pen names. O. Henry then published prolific stories started in 1902. His stories often have surprised endings which amazed the readers. He depicts poverty and wealth carefully. The characters in his story are often ordinary men or heroes. He portraits love sensitively and has strong emotional feeling. He creates his style through dialects and figures of speech. The origin of his pen name is unclear, which may be related to a family cat or a book he read. Unfortunately, his bad habits of drinking alcohol deteriorates his health and a great author died in 1910.