5 h 59 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 147 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 147 pagesAbout this book
Who matters in a crowded city: the wealthy few, or everyone passing them on the street?
In The Four Million, O. Henry turns toward New York’s shopgirls, clerks, cab drivers and drifters. These twenty-five short stories make room for people the society pages overlook. Their small rooms, modest hopes and chance meetings reveal a city where money matters, but cannot settle every question.
In The Gift of the Magi, Della wants a Christmas gift worthy of Jim despite having little money. In The Cop and the Anthem, Soapy seeks prison’s shelter as winter approaches. Mammon and the Archer tests Anthony Rockwater’s faith in wealth, while After Twenty Years builds its encounter around a promise.
What you’ll discover
- Ordinary people worth noticing Meet workers, lodgers and strangers whose modest dreams deserve a place at the story’s center.
- Love on a small budget Step into Della and Jim’s small flat, where a Christmas gift carries deep feeling.
- Winter on the streets Follow Soapy’s unusual search for shelter, shaped by cold weather and the hope of arrest.
- Money meets its limits Explore the gap between Anthony Rockwater’s confidence in wealth and the demands of love.
- Humor with a surprise Enjoy a chatty, playful voice and unexpected endings that invite a second look.
Who will love it
This book suits anyone who likes short stories you can finish in one sitting, readers curious about everyday life in New York around 1900, and people who enjoy warm, dry humor. Readers who want long, slow character studies may find these tales too brisk.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The city belongs to ordinary people
- Two poor lovers and a Christmas gift
- A drifter tries to get himself arrested
- Money, love and the limits of both
- Strangers, lodgers and chance meetings
- How O. Henry builds a story
Who’s who
- DellaA young wife in a small flat who has only a little saved and wants to find a Christmas gift worthy of her husband.
- JimDella's husband, a man of modest means who takes quiet pride in one cherished possession.
- SoapyA homeless man on a bench in Madison Square who hopes to spend the winter in the shelter of a prison.
- Anthony RockwaterA retired soap maker who believes his wealth can buy whatever he or his family needs.
- Richard RockwaterAnthony's son, who is in love with a young woman soon to travel abroad.
- Harvey MaxwellA broker so devoted to his work in the market that he hardly notices the people around him.
- Miss LeslieMaxwell's stenographer, who works at his side each day and is barely seen by him.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 5 h 59 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 147 pages: USD 7.95 when you start free, USD 14.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 147 pages: USD 15.95 when you start free, USD 21.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Four Million
by O. Henry· 1906
Who matters in a crowded city: the wealthy few, or everyone passing them on the street?
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
The city belongs to ordinary people
The book starts from a plain claim. New York is not only the home of the wealthy few who fill the society pages. It is also the home of millions who work, rent small rooms, ride the streets and hope. O. Henry takes his title from this idea and makes it the rule of the whole collection.
The people in these stories are rarely famous or powerful. They are clerks, stenographers, young couples counting coins, men sitting on park benches, and drivers who pass through the whole city in a day. Many of them are short of money. Almost all of them want something simple, such as warmth, company, pride or love.
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What is The Four Million about?
It is a collection of twenty-five short stories about ordinary people in New York City around 1900. The characters include clerks, couples, drifters and a few rich men, and the tales mix comedy with feeling.
What does the title The Four Million mean?
It answers a society phrase about the Four Hundred, the small circle of people who supposedly mattered in New York. O. Henry argues that the whole city, about four million people, deserves attention.
Which stories are in The Four Million?
The book includes The Gift of the Magi, The Cop and the Anthem, After Twenty Years, The Furnished Room, Mammon and the Archer, The Romance of a Busy Broker and Memoirs of a Yellow Dog, among others.
The author
O. Henry
1862–1910 · American short story writer
O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, the American master of the short story whose twist endings — none more famous than The Gift of the Magi — made him one of the most beloved storytellers of his era.
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