Last year about this time, I did a series of blog posts spotlighting my ten favorite short stories by O. Henry, one of my all-time favorite authors. I had some rather grand ideas for the series, which included winding up with a poll to see which story was the reader favorite, but it so happened that I couldn’t get Blogger’s poll feature to work. So that fell a little flat. But it was an enjoyable challenge selecting my favorites and trying to write a little about why I liked them. I thought it would be fun to re-post the list this year, and as a bonus, add a few more favorites that come next in line.
As I explained last year, I left off Henry’s two best-loved stories, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Ransom of Red Chief,” even though they’re both undoubtedly terrific, in favor of spotlighting some lesser-known gems. This was my list:
- Friends in San Rosario
- The Man Higher Up
- Calloway’s Code
- The Green Door
- A Chaparral Prince
- The Pimienta Pancakes
- Springtime á la Carte
- Art and the Bronco
- The Halberdier of the Little Rheinschloss
- The Love-Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein
And here are some of the runners-up—some that just missed getting into the top ten, or that I’ve come to appreciate more since making the list:
- The Last Leaf
- The Roads We Take
- Christmas by Injunction
- Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet
- The Lonesome Road
- The Romance of a Busy Broker
Have you read any or all of these stories? Which is your favorite?
Arshad Usmani says
If you want to talk about hidden Gems, then surely you should consider the short story- 'The Trimmed Lamp', because in this story O. Henry Ji explore the philosophical and psychological views and opinions. The manhunt by women, the need for getting fame and position, overruling other women. The story is so magical with many of its lines consisting of complex balance sentences as if they are verses. Those lines should appear in philosophy books. The mood swings and enticement morality. Amazing. This story should definitely be on your top ten list. And if you don't want to include it, then please at least tell me why? Is this story not good?