Cabbages and Kings

About “Cabbages and Kings”

In 1904, O. Henry published his first collection of short stories, Cabbages and Kings. The book includes a story about President Miraflores of the fictional republic of Anchuria, who died by his own hand in the coastal town of Coralio. He had fled there to escape an imminent revolution. He carried one hundred thousand dollars in government funds in an American leather valise, which was never recovered. The story is part of O. Henry's early work, which helped establish his reputation as a writer of witty and imaginative fiction.