A.

Meet the Author

O. Henry’s real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina, America in
1862. He is famous for writing over 300 short stories. The stories are known because they are
entertaining and often contain humour and unexpected twists (surprises). During his life O. Henry
had many different jobs, including pharmacist, banker, and journalist. He was not a successful
banker and was sent to prison for 5 years for stealing. After prison, he started writing full time
when he was employed by a newspaper in New York just before he was 40 years old. Some of his
stories were printed in the newspaper before later being republished in books. It is thought that he
was a successful writer as he had an interesting and varied life and this helped him to create stories
and characters. He died in 1910 but his stories are still read today. The Gift of the Magi is one of
O. Henry’s most famous short stories. It is a story of love and sacrifice and it is set at Christmas
time. The title of the story mentions the magi, these were the three wise men who visited Jesus
when he was born and gave him gifts. It is traditional in many cultures to give loved ones a gift at
Christmas, just as the magi did.