"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It. It has since been reprinted in James Thurber: Writings and Drawings, is available on-line on the New Yorker website, and is one of the most anthologized short stories in American literature. The story is considered one of Thurber's "acknowledged masterpieces". It was made into a 1947 film, with Danny Kaye in the title role, though the film is very different from the original story. It was also adapted into a 2013 film, directed by and starring Ben Stiller, and is again very different from the original.

Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Updated Jun 28, 2026.