Oxford Bookworms Library: The Ransom of Red Chief

The Ransom of Red Chief is an adaptation of the famous short story by O. Henry, published as part of the Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader series by Oxford University Press (OUP).

The title is at the Starter Level, which is the introductory stage of the series, featuring a very limited vocabulary of approximately 250 headwords (A1 on the CEFR). It is often published in a comic-strip or highly illustrated format to aid comprehension at this level.

The plot follows two petty criminals, Sam and Bill, who need money to fund a land scheme. They hatch a plan to kidnap Johnny Dorset, the ten-year-old, red-haired son of a wealthy man in a small Alabama town named Summit. They believe this will be an easy, quick way to get a large ransom.