Olivier Henry a famous author, known for witty and surprising short stories. Originally born named William Sidney Porter but after mistakes made in life and going to prison for fraud. Porter was too ashamed to use his actual name, he hid this from everyone he knew including his daughter. With all the extra time he had on his hands Porter was later recognized as “The Short Story master”. All his knowledge led him to be one of the most recognized short story writers in the world.

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1862 William Sydney Porter was left in the hands of his aunt and uncle after his mother’s death in 1865 and his father’s financial ruin and downfall in alcohol. William’s aunt, Evalina Porter was in charge of William’s formal education. “He would later credit this strict disciplinarian with stimulating and encouraging his avid interest in reading literature, writing stories, and drawing caricatures”(Seffel). When still very young in his teen years he began to work in his uncle’s very popular drugstore. There Henry had gain popularity locally for his drawings of customers, his small plays, stories and songs that he had made up. “In 1881 he was licensed by the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association as a practicing pharmacist, an …show more content…
he used a lot of non-expected endings and coincidence that attracted attention. Henry was unable to finish long stories therefore he integrated his time in making short ones. “Having dropped out of school, dealing with the loss of his wife, and being subjected to prison life, O. Henry was totally aware of the cruelty of being a “small potato” in society” (“O. Henry’s…”). Henry’s stories deal a lot with poor people of daily life. “When people try to describe O Henry’s writing style, they always use the term “smile with tears” (“O. Henry’s…”). Many would say that Henry’s writings were of great consolation when going through