The Trimmed Lamp: and other Stories of the Four Million
O. Henry
Read by Marian Brown
Born in 1862 and died in 1910, O. Henry’s birth name is William Sydney Porter; however, he adopted the pen name O. Henry while in prison. He published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.
The Trimmed Lamp follows The Four Million and provides another series of short stories that take place in New York City in the early years of the 20th century and are representative of the surprise endings that popularized O. Henry’s work. They also capture his use of coincidence or chance to create humor in the story. O Henry wrote about ordinary people in everyday circumstances. He is quoted as once saying, “There are stories in everything. I’ve got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts and newspaper stands.”
I hope you enjoy the following readings as much as I enjoyed recording them.
(Summary by Marian Brown) (5 hr 54 min)
Chapters
Trimmed Lamp, The | 27:07 | Read by Marian Brown |
A Madison Square Arabian Night | 15:58 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball | 14:20 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Pendulum | 11:57 | Read by Marian Brown |
Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen | 12:50 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Assessor of Success | 14:41 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Buyer from Cactus City | 14:05 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Badge of Policeman O'Roon | 12:02 | Read by Marian Brown |
Brickdust Row | 18:09 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Making of a New Yorker | 12:51 | Read by Marian Brown |
Vanity and Some Sables | 13:37 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Social Triangle | 12:27 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Purple Dress | 11:54 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Foreign Policy of Company 99 | 14:00 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Lost Blend | 12:06 | Read by Marian Brown |
A Harlem Tragdey | 13:15 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Guilty Party - An East Side Tragedy | 14:29 | Read by Marian Brown |
According to Their Lights | 13:09 | Read by Marian Brown |
A Midsummer Knight's Dream | 10:56 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Last Leaf | 14:00 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Count and the Wedding Guest | 13:47 | Read by Marian Brown |
The County of Elusion | 19:11 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Ferry of Unfulfillment | 9:15 | Read by Marian Brown |
The Tale of a Tainted Tenner | 12:41 | Read by Marian Brown |
Elsie in New York | 16:04 | Read by Marian Brown |
Reviews
Ben
Although the reader has a strong, clear voice, her frequent mispronunciations significantly tarnished the listening experience. They took me entirely out of the story multiple times. It was evident she had neither rehearsed nor taken the time to look up unfamiliar words and foreign names. This disappointed me, because I really wanted to report that I had enjoyed listening to O. Henry’s stories. I hope this reader will adopt the habit of researching words and doing a practice-read, because, as noted, she does have a clear voice, and she carefully enunciates … her mispronunciations.
very entertaining
westovem
I enjoyed listening to these O. Henry stories; there were several I hadn't heard before. The reader was adequate – very clear – but occasional mispronunciations (e.g., “egregious” and “Scheherazade”) tended to break the spell of the story.
Stand Tall
Excellent and very humorous, stories, as well as a Great reader. If there is inaccuracies in the vocabulary it is probably intended by O. Henry.