Time to write: How William Sidney Porter became O. Henry

In 1896 William Sidney Porter was indicted for embezzlement from the First National Bank of Austin, Texas, a charge he denied and the authors reject. His fame as one of this nation’s leading short-story writers began when he was in a federal prison in Columbus, Ohio, where he had “time to write.” Since Porter spent sixteen years (1882-1898), a third of his life, in Texas, many of his short stories reflect a personal knowledge of Texas towns and society before the turn of the century. Some of his stories also call on his experiences in the land office and bank in Austin and during his flight to avoid prosecution on the federal indictment when he went to Honduras by way of New Orleans. The twelve “prison” stories, including A Fog in Santone, obviously a story with a Texas background, are included in Part III. Included in this collection is the background of William Sidney Porter, his trial, and imprisonment, as well as photographs.