{"product_id":"ragged-dick-and-struggling-upward-paperback","title":"Ragged Dick and Struggling Upward - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eHoratio Alger\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eCarl Bode\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the 1860's through the 1890s, Horatio Alger wrote hundreds of novels to teach young boys the merits of honesty, hard work, and cheerfulness in the face of adversity. As Carl Bode points out in his introduction, Horatio Alger filled a void in American literature and met scant competition both in the nature and the number of his works. Like his heroes, Alger rose to the top by chance, coincidence, and hard work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe hero of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRagged Dick\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a veritable \"diamond in the rough\"--as innately virtuous as he is streetwise and cocky. Immediately popular with young readers, the novel also appealed to parents, who repsonded to its colorful espousal of the Protestant ethic. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStruggling Upward\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, published nearly thirty years later, followed the same time-tested formulas, and despite critical indifference it, too, had mass appeal. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe hero of 'Ragged Dick' is a veritable 'diamond in the rough'-as innately virtuous as he is streetwise and cocky. Immediately popular with young readers, the novel also appealed to parents, who responded to its colorful espousal of the Protestant ethic. 'Struggling Upward' published nearly thirty years later, followed the same time-tested formulas, and despite critical indifference it, too, had mass appeal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHoratio Alger, Jr.\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1832, the son of a Unitarian minister. He received a strict upbringing and was educated for a life in the church, graduating from Harvard in 1852.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter leaving Harvard, Alger, to his father's disappointment, took a job as a historian in Middlesex County, Massachusetts and later worked as a teacher at a boys' boarding school in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He traveled in Europe for a year, and then returned to the United States in 1857 to complete his studies at the Cambridge Divinity School.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1864 Alger was ordained a minister at the First Parish Unitarian Church of Brewster on Cape Cod. Sixteen months later, however, he was dismissed from the pulpit after being accused of engaging in homosexual relations with two boys. After his dismissal, Alger began to focus on his writing career, which spanned more than three decades and 110 books. He wrote mainly children's books about boys and girls who rise from rags to riches through hard work and faith in the American dream. His first major success came with the publication of his eighth novel, \u003cb\u003eRagged Dick\u003c\/b\u003e in 1868. Other popular novels include \u003cb\u003eLuck and Pluck\u003c\/b\u003e (1869), \u003cb\u003eTattered Tom\u003c\/b\u003e (1871), and \u003cb\u003eStrive and Succeed\u003c\/b\u003e (1872). Alger also wrote several adult novels, including \u003cb\u003eA Fancy of Her's\u003c\/b\u003e (first publihsed as \u003cb\u003eThe New Schoolma'am\u003c\/b\u003e in 1877) and \u003cb\u003eThe Disagreeable Woman\u003c\/b\u003e (1895).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlger, who never married, spent the last decades of his life living at his family home in South Natick, Massachusetts, where he died in 1899. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarl Bode\u003c\/b\u003e, professor emeritus of English\/American Studies at the University of Maryland, is a freelance writer. Founder and first president of the American Studies Assocation, he is also past president of he Popular Culture Association and the Mencken Society. His books include \u003cb\u003eThe American Lyceum\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eAntebellum Culture\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eMencken\u003c\/b\u003e. He has edited \u003cb\u003eCollected Poems of Henry Thoreau\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Best of Thoreau's Journals\u003c\/b\u003e; and has co-edited \u003cb\u003eThe Correspondence of Henry David Thoreau\u003c\/b\u003e and, in collaboration with Malcolm Cowley, \u003cb\u003eThe Portable Emerson\u003c\/b\u003e.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 7.7 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 08, 1985\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52558570488115,"sku":"9780140390339","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/xpqlpOswr09780140390339.webp?v=1761216859","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/ragged-dick-and-struggling-upward-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}