Frank and Fearless, by Horatio Alger, revolves around the life of Jasper Kent, 15, a bright, attractive boy. After the death of his father, Jasper Kent runs away from his scheming stepmother and... More > heads west where he rescues a girl from kidnappers. Aka: Won by Pluck. Jasper Kent attends the boarding school of Dr. Pericles Benton. While there, he has an altercation with a bully, Nicholas Thorne, whose aunt happens to be his father’s housekeeper. When Jasper returns home, he learns that his wealthy father has married Nicholas’s mother, who schemed to marry Jasper’s father for his money. When his father suddenly dies several months later, her true character is revealed. Nicholas instigates a fight with Jasper, and Mrs. Thorne only punishes Jasper. Jasper has no choice but to strike out for himself. Jasper encounters one misadventure after another during his quest to secure his uncertain future.< Less
Like many other novels written by Horatrio Alger, the book, The Erie Train Boy, shows how a poor boy goes through the struggles in his life and how he makes it big in future. Through the story, the... More > author tells the adventures of a young boy who supports his family by working on the Erie trains selling cards, newspapers, and novels.
This journey of adventures retains the element of interest right up to the concluding part. The story telling element is very typical of Horatio Alger and the narration and dialogue like most of the stories highly emphatic.< Less
The Errand Boy by Horatio Alger is an exciting story about the power of hard work, honesty, and above all, kindness. Sixteen-year-old Philip Brent leaves his small hometown to seek his fortune in... More > 1880s New York after his spiteful stepmother reveals that instead of being his late father's beloved only son, he is of unknown parentage and must fend for himself. Unwilling to endure a life of dependence on those who despise him and have cheated him Philip strikes out on his own. Alger wrote to instill the principle of Strive and Succeed, Personal Growth and Achievement-to attain the American dream. He inspired countless millions of young people world-wide and was the Mark Victor Hanson and Tony Robbins of his era. "Horatio Alger Jr. was the biggest American media star of his day. [when] the sale of 10,000 volumes was deemed a publishing triumph in those days-readers bought at least 200 million copies of his books, placing him in the Stephen King category"..< Less
The Store Boy, by Horatio Alger, revolves around Ben, the hero, and his struggles and adventures in life. The story begins with the boy’s meeting with a tramp. Ben’s relation with his... More > mother has been described very beautifully in the second chapter of the story.
In every step of his life, Ben learns from different people, first it was his mother and then the people he comes across in his different jobs. Having struggled a lot, one day Ben’s luck brings him name and fame. He continues to pursue for more perfection and knowledge and he does succeed to a very great extent.
If you are interested in adventure stories, this one is for you.< Less
The Tin Box by Horatio Alger is like most of his stories a rags to riches story.This story contains the three elements of almost every Alger story. First, there is the desperate situation of a poor... More > boy, who by difficult effort improves himself and succeeds. This is the heroic element that most people refer to and respond to when they admire an Alger story. It relies on a view of man as having free will and a self-made soul. In particular, observe that Dick changes from someone who lives short-range to someone who thinks about the future. He is able to discipline himself to prepare for the future across time, even though his progress is incremental. Both in his acquisition of a modest sum of money and in his acquisition of knowledge, we see him act consistently to obtain a distant goal. This is why Alger is often said to promote "middle-class values." The members of the middle class improve themselves gradually, across time.< Less
The Young Miner by Horatio Alger is a highly descriptive story of Tom Nelson's trip across the Plains. Readers will find in the present story a record of his adventures in the Land of Gold. Though... More > his prosperity was chiefly due to his own energy and industry, it is also true that he was exceptionally lucky. Yet his good fortune has been far exceeded by that of numerous adventurous spirits in Colorado, within the last twelve months. Some measure of prosperity generally awaits the patient and energetic worker, and seldom comes to those who idly wait for something to turn up.< Less
"The Young Outlaw" by Horatio Alger is the sixth in the series of the Tattered Tom Series, and the twelfth of the stories which are wholly or mainly devoted to street-life in New York. The... More > story carries its moral with it, and the writer has little fear that the Young Outlaw will be selected as a model by the boys who may read his adventures, and be amused by the scrapes into which he manages to fall. In previous volumes he has endeavored to show that even a street-boy, by enterprise, industry and integrity, may hope to become a useful and respected citizen. In the present narration he aims to exhibit the opposite side of the picture, and point out the natural consequences of the lack of these qualities.< Less
Timothy Crump lives in New York City with his wife, son, and sister. Unfortunately he is out of work. On New Year’s Day, a young girl named Ida is left at their door. She stays with the family... More > and eventually becomes a member of the Crump family.
Eight years later, a mysterious woman appears at their door, claiming to be Ida’s old nurse. She wishes to return Ida to her real mother. When a family friend informs them that he has seen Ida and her nurse on board a train to Philadelphia, the family is very suspicious. In reality though, Ida has been kidnapped and her captors are using her to help in their money making scheme. Jack takes it upon himself to find Ida and bring her back. Unfortunately, Jack and Ida both hit some troubles that prevent an immediate rescue. Jack must find a way to get Ida to safety, and expose her captors to the authorities< Less
"Young Captain Jack" by Horatio Alger is the story of the adventures of a boy waif, who is cast upon the Atlantic shore of one of our Southern States and taken into one of the leading... More > families of the locality. The youth grows up as a member of the family, knowing little or nothing of his past. This is at the time of the Civil War, when the locality is in constant agitation, fearing that a battle will be fought in the immediate vicinity. During this time there appears upon the scene a Confederate surgeon who, for reasons of his own, claims Jack as his son. The youth has had trouble with this man and despises him. He cannot make himself believe that the surgeon is his parent and he refuses to leave his foster mother, who thinks the world of him. Many complications arise, but in the end the truth concerning the youth's identity is uncovered, and all ends happily for the young son of a soldier.< Less
