The Best Short Stories Of O. Henry have been Selected and with an Introduction by Bennett A. Cerf and Van H. Cartmell. The book has been published by The Modern Library – New York. This volume contains wonderful representation of O. Henry’s creative ability.

The book’s first short story is: The Gift of the Magi – that served to become a favourite among the author’s readers. Among the hundreds of stories O. Henry wrote, many were woven around Central America and New Orleans. New York was the sacred citadel for him; restaurants, hotels, cafés’ with their essence brought the best in O. Henry to include what he wanted to describe. Both for his reviewers and the reading public, his work remained quite easily – very successful.

Most of the stories, the author set were about the early 20th century. Human interest, along with an element of possessing surprise endings with humour and irony make O. Henry transparent in telling the truth about human nature. His style is subtle and wide-ranging – exploring different characters – be they in New York or Texas.

O. Henry is often considered as the American: Guy de Maupassant, as both authors created plots with unexpected endings.