Ragged Dick - Hardcover

Alger Jr, Horatio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1605120049 ISBN 13: 9781605120041

Publisher: Akasha Classics, 2008

Synopsis

Ragged Dick, by Alger Jr., Horatio - Akasha Classics, AkashaPublishing.Com - Join Horatio Alger for one of his original 'rags-to-riches' stories which have been captivating readers since they first appeared in print. Ragged Dick is a street urchin in lower Manhattan, shining shoes for a living. He hasn't had many breaks in his young life, but he is determined not to let that stand in his way. His street smarts, decency, and drive serve him through a series of adventures - defeating con artists, standing up to bullies, coming to the aid of others in need - which enable him to better himself. Will he achieve his dream of becoming a gentleman? Fun for children and adults alike, Ragged Dick is an adventure story with heart.

About this title

About the Author:

Horatio Alger, Jr. (1834–1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. He initially wrote and published for adults, but a friendship with boys' author William Taylor Adams led him to writing for the young. He published for years in Adams's Student and Schoolmate, a boys' magazine of moral writings. His lifelong theme of "rags to respectability" had a profound impact on America in the Gilded Age. His works gained even greater popularity following his death, but gradually lost reader interest in the 1920s. Gary Scharnhorst, author of Horatio Alger, Jr., describes Alger's style as "anachronistic", "often laughable", "distinctive", and "distinguished by the quality of its literary allusions." These allusions are what set his work apart from the pulps, Scharnhorst opines, and include the Bible, Shakespeare (in half his books), John Milton, Longfellow, Cicero, Horace, Joseph Addison, Oliver Goldsmith, Alexander Pope, Thomas Gray, William Cowper, and many others. "By the diversity of his allusions," Scharnhorst writes, "Alger ... both revealed his erudition and enhanced the literary quality of his work."

About this edition

• Publisher: Akasha Classics
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1605120049
• ISBN 13: 9781605120041
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216