The Trimmed Lamp: and other Stories of the Four Million


Read by Marian Brown

(4.2 stars; 18 reviews)

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


(1 stars)

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


(3 stars)

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.


(5 stars)

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.