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Unit 12: A Lickpenny Lover by O Henry

3. O Henry coined the term …………………… to describe the country, Honduras in his book Notes
Cabbages and Kings.
4. The Gift of Magi was published in …………………….

5. The reoccurring theme in A Lickpenny Lover was that …………………….

12.7 Summary

William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862–June 5, 1910), known by his pen name
O Henry, was an American writer.
Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter’s elementary school in 1876. He then
enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School.

He then worked full-time on his humorous weekly called The Rolling Stone, which he
started while working at the bank.

Porter’s most prolific writing period started in 1902, when he moved to New York City to
be near his publishers.
Porter was a heavy drinker, and his health deteriorated markedly in 1908, which affected
his writing.

Most of O Henry’s stories are set in his own time, the early 20th century. Many take place
in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen,
waitresses, etc.
“Cabbages and Kings” was his first collection of stories, followed by The Four Million.
The second collection opens with a reference to Ward McAllister’s assertion that there
were only ‘Four Hundred’ people in New York City who were really worth noticing.

“The Gift of the Magi,” “The Lickpenny Lover,” “The Midsummer Knights Dream,”
“The Cop and the Anthem” and “Ships,” are his most popular stories.

12.8 Keywords

Embezzle: To steal or misappropriation of funds.
Immigrant: A person who leaves his native country and shift to a foreign country permanently.

Mandolin: A lute-like musical instrument with a pear shaped body and a fretted neck with four
pairs of metal strings.
Pseudonym: A fake or fictitious name, especially used by a writer.

Wordplay: The clever and humorous exploitation of the connotations and vagueness of words,
particularly in puns.

12.9 Review Questions

1. List four examples of O Henry’s style of writing.

2. What literary term applies to O Henry’s writing? Cite specific examples from stories
which exemplify this term.
3. What happened to O Henry that had an effect on his writing? In what ways did this affect
his writing?

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