O Henry

O. Henry O Henry

Cabbages and Kings is a 1904 novel made up of interlinked short stories, written by O. Henry and set in a fictitious Central American country called the Republic of Anchuria. It takes its title from the poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", featured in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. This is by far my favorite short story collection by O. Henry. The tales take place in the same locale, a fictitious banana republic of the American tropics. There is an over-arcing plot that runs through the stories, concerning the ruling potentate's abdication and sudden departure with the nation's treasury funds, creating a mystery that isn't solved until the final vignette. Along the way, we meet an amusing cast of characters, each one with his own colorful background. The best part of the book, though, is O. Henry's brilliant use of the English language.