The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a short story written by Roald Dahl and published in collection by the same name.

Dramatis personae

Plot

Beginning

This famous tale is actually a story-within-a-story-within-a-story-within-a-story. The story starts with Henry Sugar, a wealthy and idle playboy who likes to gamble and is not above cheating to win. One summer weekend, Henry goes to stay at a friend's mansion. Depressed about the neverending rain outside, they decide to play Canasta (a card game). The game requires 4 player and there were 5, so the friends have a draw to see who will sit out. Henry loses. Bored, he wanders into the library and discovers a blue exercise book on one of the shelves. On the first page is written: "A Report on an Interview with Imhrat Khan, the Man Who Could See Without His Eyes" by Dr. John Cartwright. Henry sits down to read the book and is so excited by what he sees that he sits down to read the whole book.

The Book

Dr. Cartwright's report is a story in itself. He explains that one day he was in the doctor's lounge at his hospital in Bombay, when an Indian man by the name of Imhrat Khan entered and asked for assistance. He claimed to be able to see without his eyes. Cartwright and three other doctors agreed to help him promote his theatre show by bandaging his eyes completely. When they finished, they were amazed to see him ride off on his bicycle through heavy traffic. That night, Cartwright went to see Khan's show. Afterwards, he invited Khan to dinner and asks him to tell him how he learned this amazing trick. Khan agrees to tell him.

The Man Who Could See Without His Eyes

Khan's story went as follows. As a young boy, he was fascinated with magic and ran off to be a magician's assistant. He was terribly disappointed to realize it was all trickery and sleight of hand. He decides he wants to learn the strange power called yoga. It was hard for him to find a teacher, because Khan wanted to learn yoga for fame and fortune, but real yogis did not display their skills in public. Eventually Khan managed to locate a yogi called Banerjee, and he watched in secret as Banerjee levitated during meditation. The yogi discovered him and became enraged, chasing him off. Khan returned to yogi every day to beg him to teach him and eventually Banerjee agrees to recommend him to a yogi friend for instruction. So Khan finally began his yoga training. He learned how to concentrate the conscious mind. He described all the exercises he did to do so. He had a minor success when he was able to walk across a firepit barefeet. Eventually he succeeds in seeing without his eyes. He can even see through playing cards.

Doctor Cartwright ,amazed with Imhrat Khan's story, decides that it must be published, that Khan's abilities might pave the way towards helping the blind see and the deaf hear. But before he can speak to him again the next day, though, he learns that Khan has died in his sleep.

Henry's ordeal

Now back to Henry Sugar. When Henry finishes the story he decides to try the yoga training himself so as to win in gambling and thereby earn a fortune. He steals the book and begins to practice at home. He begins to make progress immediately, and discovers that he's one of the one-in-a-million people that can develop yoga powers with amazing speed. After three years hard work, Henry can see through a playing card in less than four seconds. He immediately goes to a big London casino and proceeds to win over six thousand pounds. When he gets home, though, he realizes that he doesn't feel as happy as he had expected. The yoga training had changed his outlook on life. In the morning, he throws a twenty pound note to someone on the street and realizes that charity makes him feel good. Without a thought, he throws the entire pile out the window. A riot ensues and a policeman comes to question him. Henry is astonished when the policeman berates him for not giving the money to a worthy cause, like a hospital or orphanage. Henry decides the policeman is right and formulates a plan. For the next twenty years, Henry travels the world winning fortunes at casinos and sending it to his personal accountant John Winston in Switzerland. The accountant sets up orphanages in every country Henry visits. Henry also has a personal make-up artist who travels with him so he doesn't get recognized. By the time he died, he had won one over one hundred and forty-four million pounds and set up over twenty orphanges. From an annonymous source on Wikianswers, his real name is Geoffrey Fisher. This was found in: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Henry_Sugar%27s_real_name

The End

The author (presumably Dahl) explains that John Winston, Henry's accountant, called him not long after Henry's death. He wanted the world to know what Henry had done. The author is fascinated with the tale and agrees to write it up and protect Henry's true identity.