After Twenty Years

This article is about the O. Henry short story. For the Alexandre Dumas novel, see Twenty Years After.

The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm. "You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped ... Gordon Grant illustration for "After Twenty Years" in the 1917 memorial edition of O. Henry's work

"After Twenty Years" is a short story written by O. Henry, first published in his anthology, The Four Million in 1906.[1]

Summary

On a cold, dark night, Bob waits outside a closed hardware store, keeping the appointment they made two decades earlier. He tells a passing police officer about the agreement. Bob had moved out West to seek his fortune, while Jimmy stayed in New York.

After the officer leaves, another man approaches, claiming to be Jimmy. As they talk and walk under better lighting, Bob realizes the man is not his old friend. The imposter then reveals himself as a plainclothes police officer who arrests Bob—who is wanted in Chicago.

Before being taken away, Bob is handed a note from the real Jimmy Wells, who had indeed come to the meeting. However, when he recognized that his old friend was a wanted criminal, he couldn’t bring himself to arrest him personally, so he had another officer do it instead.

Media adaptations

  • Syndicated series The O. Henry Playhouse (1956–57) adapted the story for one of their half-hour episodes. The adaptation has been released on a DVD collection of the show's episodes.[2]
  • The story was included in a 1987 audiotape collection O. Henry Favorites by the Listening Library of Old Greenwich, Connecticut.
  • In 2001, it was one of five O. Henry stories included in the compact disc collection Classic American Short Stories, read by William Roberts.[3]
  • The story was adapted into a short film, titled Hands of Time (2021), produced & directed by Pranay Singh. The film stars Aditya Swami and Hardik Sabnis.[4]
  • This story was adapted for the stage by playwright Gerald P. Murphy and published in 2018 by Lazy Bee Scripts. [1]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for O. Henry's "After Twenty Years". Gale, Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-4103-3939-3.
  2. ^ "The O. Henry Playhouse: AFTER TWENTY YEARS". Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Audible.com | Unlock a listen for every moment.
  4. ^ Hands of Time - A story of friendship and betrayals, February 17, 2021, retrieved May 25, 2021
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