Customer Reviews (2)

Correction
Lithopolis is not fictional. It is a real town in Ohio. Mabel Wagnalls was the daughter of the Wagnalls of Funk and Wagnalls. She donated the gothic style library that graces this tiny town. O. Henry, of course, was incarcerated down the road at the Ohio pen. The book is supposed to be his actual correspondence with the real-life author and concert pianist Mabel Wagnalls who lived in the actual and real-life town of Lithopolis, not a metropolis, but still in existence.

Rare bit of "O Henryana"
Orginally published almost 3/4 a century ago by Doubleday. The letters are to a fictitious Lithopolis are directed to a member of the noted publishing family of Wagnalls, as in Funk and Wagnalls. ... Read more

Book Description
1921. Illustrated. Jennings recounts his life and career as attorney outlaw, and gubernatorial candidate. ... Read more

Book Description
Originally published in 1916, this was the first full-length biography of O. Henry, based upon original letters and sources. C. Alphonso Smith (1864-1924) was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, O. Henry's hometown, and knew the writer as a fellow townsman as well as a subject for literary biography.The author of several works on philology and poetics, and of more popular guides such as What Can Literature Do for Me?, Smith was Poe Professor of English at the University of Virginia and spent his last years as head of the English Department at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. ... Read more

Book Description
This book provides close look at the predominant character types and plot patterns found in the urban stories of William Sydney Porter (more familiarly known as O. Henry), analyzing how these elements structure his tales and contribute to his popular formulas. Blansfield also examines Porter’s adventurous but troubled background—as a ranch hand, cowboy, bank teller, journalist, prisoner, fugitive, and more—to see how his own experience shaped these aspects of his fiction. The book considers how the bustling, turbulent conditions of New York City at the turn of the century helped to launch Porter’s [O. Henry’s] meteoric career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lindbergh
Though this book can seem excessivley log with it's incredible detail, the author shows much potential with his research. For those highly interested in this man's life should definately add this to their bookshelves. ... Read more