Alger, Horatio

Ragged Dick (Norton Critical Edition)

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.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

The works [of] John Adams, second President of the United States. 10 Volumes

1896. Alger is the original rags-to-riches guy, often credited with inventing the strive-and-succeed spirit that inspired boys to work hard and advance themselves in order to achieve the American Dream. This theme resonates throughout his numerous writings. When Scott Walton's father dies, he leaves him with the names of two relatives in America. Penniless, Scott must travel to New York City to meet his uncle, Ezra Little. Mr. Little grudgingly hires Scott, paying him only room and board. While he is staying with his uncle, he meets an older relative of the family, the kind Seth Lawton, who comes to visit. When Mr. Little's son, a spoiled young boy, steals his mother's pocketbook and implicates Scott. Anxious to be rid of Scott, Mr. Little fires him and asks him to leave his house. Luckily, Scott is soon able to get a job as a traveling salesman. When Scott is sent to Buffalo on business he is able to buy a bankrupt wholesale firm's goods for his company at a discount. For this, the company gives him a commission and a promotion. Now able to support himself, Scott is even more ecstatic when he learns Lawton's secret that cements his future. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Joe's Luck

An orphan, Joe leaves New York to try his luck in California. He works hard in San Francisco and tries mining on the Yuba River. In Joe?s Luck, Joe had Alger?s essential virtues for success: bravery, generosity, kindness and perseverance.

Helping Himself

Another in the popular series of tales about real boys who 'did honest things successfully'

RAGGED DICK AND MARK, THE MATCH BOY: Two Novels by Horatio Alger

Do And Dare

If we could only keep the post office, mother, we should be all right, said Herbert Carr, as he and his mother sat together in the little sitting room of the plain cottage which the two had occupied ever since he was a boy of five. "Yes, Herbert, but I am afraid there won't be much chance of it."

The young explorer, or, Among the Sierras (The Pacific series)

Struggling Upward, Or, Luke Larkin's Luck

Relates the adventures of Luke Larkin, a poor boy of the nineteenth century, who perseveres against many odds and gains success.

The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 Volumes 38 through 39 (Index and List of Letters)

Rough And Ready Or Life Among The New York Newsboys

1869. Alger is the original rags-to-riches guy, often credited with inventing the strive-and-succeed spirit that inspired boys to work hard and advance themselves in order to achieve the American Dream. This theme resonates throughout his numerous writings. This is the fourth volume of his Ragged Dick Series. Alger writes in the Preface: Its second title, Life Among the New York Newsboys describes its character and purpose. While the young hero may be regarded as a favorable example of his class, the circumstances of his lot, aggravated by the persecutions of an intemperate parent, are unfortunately too common, as any one at all familiar with the history of the neglected street children in our cities will readily acknowledge. If Rough and Ready has more virtues and fewer faults than most of his class, his history will at least teach the valuable lesson that honesty and good principles are not incompatible even with the greatest social disadvantages, and will, it is hoped, serve as an incentive and stimulus to the young people who may read it. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.