Cheap Rooms and Restless Hearts: A Study of Formula in the Urban Tales of William Sydney Porter

This book provides close look at the predominant character types and plot patterns found in the urban stories of William Sydney Porter (more familiarly known as O. Henry), analyzing how these elements structure his tales and contribute to his popular formulas. Blansfield also examines Porter’s adventurous but troubled background—as a ranch hand, cowboy, bank teller, journalist, prisoner, fugitive, and more—to see how his own experience shaped these aspects of his fiction. The book considers how the bustling, turbulent conditions of New York City at the turn of the century helped to launch Porter’s [O. Henry’s] meteoric career.