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Fame and Fortune

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Pages: 179

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About this book

Fame and Fortune picks up where Ragged Dick left off. Dick Hunter, the bootblack from the first book, is now trying to make his way as a young clerk and prove that the leap from the streets wasn't a fluke. Alger wrote this one in 1868, right after the success of the original.

The plot does what Alger plots usually do. Dick works hard, helps people who need it, runs into a few scams that test his honesty, and slowly builds something for himself.

The writing is plain, the moral lessons are obvious, and the dialogue sometimes feels stilted to a modern ear. None of that is news. But there's a reason these books were popular for decades. Dick is easy to root for, and the small victories feel earned.

Worth reading after Ragged Dick. On its own it works less well.

About the author

Horatio Alger

Horatio Alger Jr. was an American author who wrote young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to middle-class security and comfort through good works. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on the United States from 1868 through to his death in 1899.