Ragged Dick; or Street Life in New York

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.


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 responded to its colorful advocacy of the virtues of industry, honesty, frugality, charity, bravery, and self-improvement, as represented by the young hero, Dick Hunter in this classic rags to riches story. 


HORATIO ALGER, Jr. (1832–99), was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his successful novels for boys such as Luck and Pluck, Tattered Tom, Phil the Fiddler, and Struggling Upward. Ragged Dick, was the first of many bestsellers. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had an influential effect on America during the Gilded Age. 


“For thrilling adventures, always go for Horatio Alger’s books.”

—Boston Herald