Cabbages and Kings
Cabbages and Kings is a novel written by O. Henry and published in 1904. It is composed of interrelated short stories set in a fictional country called the Republic of Anchuria.
In the fictitious Central American nation of Anchuria, a proud people plunge into crisis due to the maneuvers of the US fruit conglomerates and the weight of the revolution.
Anchuria is poorly managed and poor. It is ruled by dictators and has no extradition treaty with the United States. The lifestyle is that of a coastal town, primitive and immersed in intense heat. Its economy is fundamentally based on the export of tropical fruits. O. Henry invented the phrase "banana republic" to describe those small, chaotic, impoverished nations and it's a term used to this day.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. Cabbages and Kings by O. Henry is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading Cabbages and Kings in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 180
- Reading time
- 5 hours 16 minutes
- Pace
- Intermediate
- First published
- 1904
- Language
- English
- Downloads
- 2,744
122 years later, still timely
Why Read Cabbages and Kings in 2026?
Linked tales in a “banana republic” of schemers and dreamers—the phrase started here.
Today's connection
A satirical tour of coups, capital, and expats that still feels uncomfortably familiar.
Banana republic
Origin and critique.
Twist craft
O. Henry in long form.
Global shenanigans
Money, myth, and meddling.
Share this book
About the author
O. Henry
Short fiction with snap, twist, and tender humor about city lives and chance.
If this one stays with you…
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From Cabbages and Kings
In front the sea was spread, a smiling jailer, but even more incorruptible than the frowning mountains.
He was happy and content in this land of perpetual afternoon. Those old days of life in the States seemed like an irritating dream.
The art of narrative consists in concealing from your audience everything it wants to know until after you expose your favourite opinions on topics foreign to the subject.
It shall be a duty and a pleasing sport to wander with Momus beneath the tropic stars where Melpomene once stalked austere.
The air was full of human essence, of artificial enticement, of coquetry, indolence, pleasure—the man-made sense of existence.