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Last edited by OnFrATa
October 31, 2023 | History

Horatio Alger, Jr.

13 January 1832 - 18 July 1899

Horatio Alger, Jr. was a prolific 19th-century American author, most famous for his novels following the adventures of bootblacks, newsboys, peddlers, buskers, and other impoverished children in their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort. His novels were hugely popular in their day.

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the son of a Unitarian minister, Alger entered Harvard University at the age of 16. Following graduation, he briefly worked in education before touring Europe for almost a year. He then entered the Harvard Divinity School, and, in 1864, took a position at a Unitarian church in Brewster, Massachusetts. Two years later, he resigned following allegations he'd molested two teenage boys. He subsequently retired from the ministry entirely and moved to New York City where he formed an association with the Newsboys Lodging House and other agencies offering aid to impoverished children. His sympathy for the working boys of the city, coupled with the moral values learned at home, were the basis of his many juvenile "rags to riches" novels. He died in 1899.1

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  • Cover of: Ragged Dick: and Mark, the match boy.

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  • Cover of: Paul the peddler: or, The adventures of a young street merchant

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  • Cover of: Struggling upward: or, Luke Larkin's luck

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  • Cover of: The Erie train boy: illustrated
    First published in 1890 26 editions in 1 language — 4 previewable Cover of edition erietrainboy1891alge Cover of edition erietrainboy00alge Cover of edition erietrainboy00algegoog

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  • Cover of: Adrift in New York; or, Tom and Florence braving the world

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  • Cover of: In Search of Treasure

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  • Cover of: Mark Mason's Victory: The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy

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  • Cover of: Fame and Fortune: Large Print

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  • Cover of: Luke Walton, or, The Chicago newsboy
    First published in 1889 1 edition in 1 language — 1 previewable

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  • Cover of: Ragged dick -or- street life in new york with boot-blacks

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  • Cover of: Struggling Upward and other works

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  • Cover of: The nugget finders: a tale of the gold fields of Australia

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  • Cover of: Do and dare, or: A brave boy's fight for fortune

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  • Cover of: Tom Thatcher's fortune
    First published in 1888 1 edition in 1 language — 1 previewable

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  • Cover of: Herbert Carter's legacy, or, The inventor's son

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  • Cover of: Falling In With Fortune

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  • Cover of: Abraham Lincoln, the backwoods boy, or, How a young rail-splitter became president

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  • Cover of: Wait and hope, or, A plucky boy's luck

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  • Cover of: Wait and Hope
    First published in 1909 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Facing the World

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October 31, 2023 Edited by OnFrATa merge authors
May 16, 2023 Edited by Drini merge authors
July 30, 2022 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
July 30, 2022 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import