Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick

Ilana Larkin (Northwestern University)

Ed. by Tony Papanikolas, San Jose State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1867

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

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In the American mythos of upward mobility, Horatio Alger Jr.’s

Ragged Dick or, Street Life in New York with Boot Blacks

stands as perhaps one of the most iconic narratives. First serialized in the children’s periodical

Student and Schoolmate

in 1867, the story’s enthusiastic reception convinced Alger to expand it into a novel, published by the Boston-based publisher A.K. Loring in 1868. Alger was no stranger to writing for children;

Ragged Dick

was his eighth juvenile novel.

Ragged Dick,

however,

was his most popular, becoming his only true bestseller, and Loring later contracted Alger for five more novels in the

Ragged Dick

series. Alger’s novels are often characterized as “rags to riches” novels, but this mythologization is more rooted in the public perception around Alger…

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2281 words

Citation: Larkin, Ilana. "Ragged Dick". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 February 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2450, accessed 21 February 2025.]

Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick

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