From the 1860's through the 1890s, Horatio Alger wrote hundreds of novels to teach young boys the merits of honesty, hard work, and cheerfulness in the face of adversity. As Carl Bode points out in his introduction, Horatio Alger filled a void in American literature and met scant competition both in the nature and the number of his works. Like his heroes, Alger rose to the top by chance, coincidence, and hard work.
The hero of Ragged Dick is a veritable "diamond in the rough"—as innately virtuous as he is streetwise and cocky. Immediately popular with young readers, the novel also appealed to parents, who repsonded to its colorful espousal of the Protestant ethic. Struggling Upward, published nearly thirty years later, followed the same time-tested formulas, and despite critical indifference it, too, had mass appeal. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Ragged Dick and Struggling Upward (Penguin Classics)

Literature & Fiction

ALGER, JR., HORATIO

Bode, Carl

United States

Penguin Publishing Group

Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks is arguably the best known of Horatio Alger’s American rags-to-riches stories. It is canonical as a cultural text, rather than a purely literary one, as this Norton Critical Edition reflects. An extensive “Contexts” section includes maps, photographs, and documents showing how and why Alger used the backdrop of New York City to highlight problems of urban poverty, immigration, and child labor in mid-nineteenth century America. “Criticism” is thematically organized around contemporary reviews and responses, the heated public debate about whether Alger should be available in American public libraries, parodies of and related responses to Alger, and four recent critical essays by Mary Wroth Walsh, Glenn Hendler, Michael Moon, and Hildegard Hoeller.

Ragged Dick: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions)

Reference

W.W.Norton&Company

A plucky street boy who smokes, gambles, and speaks ungrammatically, Dick is also honest and hardworking. A quintessential novel of adventure, romance, and coming-of-age, it is also an exhilarating tale of one boy's metamorphosis from dirty street urchin to gentleman.

Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks

Classics

Signet Classics

From Canal Boy To President Or The Boyhood And Manhood Of James A. Garfield

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Kessinger Publishing

Making His Way: Or Frank Courtney's Struggle Upward

Shifting For Himself: Or Gilbert Greyson's Fortune

Children's Books

Ben, The Luggage Boy: Or Among The Wharves

Literary

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The Young Acrobat Of The Great North American Circus (1899)

The Young Miner: Or Tom Nelson in California

The Young Miner: Or Tom Nelson In California (1879)

Historical

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Books by ALGER, JR., HORATIO