Through the Shadows with O. Henry

Through the Shadows With O. Henry

Literature & Fiction

Jennings, Al.

Literary

Wentworth Press

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

History

Kessinger Publishing

Al Jennings, if we are to believe him, was for several years a close friend of O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), perhaps America’s favorite short-story writer. They met, Jennings claims, as outlaws on the run in Honduras, served time together in the Columbus, Ohio, Penitentiary at the turn of the century, and later met up in New York. Jennings, erstwhile lawyer, bank robber, and Hollywood consultant, was the subject of the 1951 movie Al Jennings of Oklahoma, starring Dan Duryea. Although a suspect narrator at best, Jennings is a masterful storyteller in this 1921 classic. Jennings describes the horrors of prison life so compellingly that the book might have served as a call for prison reform. Yet he also tells how he, O. Henry, and their friends managed to cope. They secured jobs in the prison post office and pharmacy and managed to find a secret room near the kitchen where on Sunday evenings they retired for a fine meal―complete with wine secured from corrupt prison contractors―and good talk. As Jennings recaps their long, philosophical discussions, readers may wish to have joined them in the fancy New York restaurants they were later able to frequent. Anyone reading Through the Shadows with O. Henry will agree that both of the author and his subject were characters worthy of any O. Henry tale.―Mike Cox

Through the Shadows with O. Henry (Double Mountain Books)

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Texas Tech University Press

“The merest flicker of a smile touched his lips. He got up, took my arm and together we helped each other down the street.... This was my first jaunt with William Sydney Porter. Together, we struck out on a long road that lost itself, for many years, in a dark tunnel. When the path broadened out again, it was the world’s highway. The man at my side was no longer Bill Porter, the fugitive, the ex-convict. He was O. Henry, the greatest of America’s short-story writers.” Al Jennings (1863–1961) had already been a runaway, a cowpuncher, and a train-robber before his adventures with O. Henry began. If we are to believe his incredible story, the outlaw was on the lam in Honduras when he first met William Sydney Porter, long before he became a famous writer. When they unwittingly intervene in a local coup attempt during a drunken spree, they again find themselves fugitives, fleeing to Mexico, where Jennings saves his friend from the murderous dagger of a vengeful Spaniard. But that is only the beginning of their adventures, and Jennings goes on to spin a masterful tale of interwoven destinies and unlikely friendship.

Arts & Literature

Antipodes Press

BCR (Bibliographical Center for Research)

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

BiblioLife

True Crime

Nabu Press

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