Horatio Alger - Sarcasm Wiki

Contents

1. Overview
2. Etymology
3. Cultural Impact

Horatio Alger Jr.

Horatio Alger Jr. (/ˈældʒər/ ); January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was an American author whose name became synonymous with the “rags-to-riches” narrative that profoundly shaped the United States from 1868 until his death in 1899. He specialized in writing young adult novels that chronicled the upward mobility of impoverished boys who, through diligent effort, moral rectitude, and a touch of serendipity, ascended from humble beginnings to achieve comfortable middle-class lives. His distinctive literary formula resonated deeply with the American psyche, offering a potent mythology of opportunity and self-improvement.

Alger solidified his literary niche and launched his most influential series in 1868 with the publication of Ragged Dick . This seminal work introduced readers to the titular character, a young bootblack , whose journey from destitution to respectability became the archetypal Alger story. The immense success of Ragged Dick paved the way for a prolific output of subsequent novels, each largely a variation on the established theme, populated by a cast of familiar stock characters : the inherently good, industrious, and honest young protagonist; the benevolent, often mysterious, benefactor; the envious and arrogant rival; and the avaricious, villainous figure.

By the 1870s, however, the creative wellspring of Alger’s fiction began to show signs of depletion. In an effort to inject fresh perspectives and settings into his narratives, his publisher encouraged him to explore the Western United States . Alger undertook a journey to California, but this excursion, while perhaps broadening his horizons, did little to invigorate his literary output. He remained largely tethered to the well-worn theme of the “poor boy makes good.” Nevertheless, the geographical backdrops of his later novels did shift, moving from the urban landscapes of the Northeastern United States to the more expansive vistas of the American West, offering a different stage for his enduring moral dramas.

Biography

Childhood: 1832–1847

Horatio Alger Jr. was born on January 13, 1832, in Chelsea, Massachusetts . He was the son of Horatio Alger Sr., a Unitarian minister, and Olive Augusta Fenno. Alger’s lineage was deeply rooted in the esteemed New England Puritan aristocracy of the early 19th century. He could trace his ancestry back to prominent figures such as Pilgrim Fathers Robert Cushman , Thomas Cushman, and William Bassett. Furthermore, he was a descendant of Sylvanus Lazell, who served as a Minuteman and later a brigadier general during the War of 1812 , and Edmund Lazell , a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1788.

Alger’s siblings, Olive Augusta and James, were born in 1833 and 1836, respectively. A sister, Annie, born in 1840, suffered from a disability, and a brother, Francis, arrived in 1842. From a young age, Alger exhibited precocious intellectual abilities, though he was also afflicted with myopia and asthma . His father, Alger Sr., harbored a firm conviction that his eldest son was destined for the ministry. To this end, he diligently tutored young Horatio in classical studies and involved him in the pastoral duties of ministering to parishioners, providing him with an early exposure to the responsibilities of a clergyman.

In 1842, Alger commenced his formal education at Chelsea Grammar School. However, by December 1844, his father’s financial circumstances had deteriorated significantly. Seeking a more substantial income, the family relocated to Marlborough, Massachusetts , a rural town situated approximately 25 miles west of Boston . Upon their arrival in January 1845, Alger Sr. was installed as the pastor of the Second Congregational Society, a position that afforded him a salary sufficient to meet the family’s needs. Young Horatio attended Gates Academy, a local preparatory school , and completed his preparatory studies by the age of 15. It was during this period that he began his literary endeavors, publishing his earliest works in local newspapers.

Harvard and Early Works: 1848–1864

In July 1848, Alger successfully navigated the rigorous Harvard entrance examinations and was admitted to the esteemed class of 1852. The Harvard faculty at that time comprised 14 full-time professors, including luminaries such as Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray in the sciences, Cornelius Conway Felton in classics, James Walker in religion and philosophy, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in belles-lettres . The presidency of the university was held by Edward Everett . Alger’s classmate, Joseph Hodges Choate , would later characterize Harvard during this era as “provincial and local” due to its limited scope, which barely extended beyond New England, and its predominantly Unitarian affiliation.

Alger flourished within the highly structured and disciplined environment of Harvard, earning accolades for his academic achievements and other distinctions. However, his circumstances of genteel poverty and a less-than-aristocratic heritage precluded him from gaining membership in exclusive societies such as the Hasty Pudding Club and the Porcellian Club . In 1849, his professional writing career commenced when he sold two essays and a poem to the Pictorial National Library, a Boston-based magazine. During this period, he immersed himself in the works of contemporary fiction writers like Walter Scott , James Fenimore Cooper , and Herman Melville , cultivating a lifelong admiration for Longfellow, whose poetic style he often emulated. Upon his graduation in 1852, he was honored with the position of Class Odist and achieved Phi Beta Kappa Society distinction, ranking eighth in a graduating class of 88.

Following his graduation, Alger found himself without immediate employment prospects and returned to his family home. He continued to hone his craft as a writer, submitting his manuscripts to various religious and literary periodicals with varied degrees of success. In 1853, he briefly enrolled in Harvard Divinity School , possibly motivated by a desire to reconnect with a romantic interest. However, he departed in November of that year to accept a position as an assistant editor at the Boston Daily Advertiser . Discontented with the editorial work, he resigned in 1854 to pursue a teaching career at The Grange, a boys’ boarding school located in Rhode Island . When The Grange ceased operations in 1856, Alger secured employment as the director of the summer session at Deerfield Academy .

His literary debut occurred in 1856 with the publication of Bertha’s Christmas Vision: An Autumn Sheaf, a collection of short pieces. This was followed in 1857 by his second book, Nothing to Do: A Tilt at Our Best Society, a lengthy satirical poem. From 1857 to 1860, Alger returned to Harvard Divinity School for his theological studies. Upon graduation, he embarked on a tour of Europe. He returned to the United States in the spring of 1861, amidst the burgeoning Civil War . In July 1863, he was granted an exemption from military service due to health reasons. During the war, he actively wrote in support of the Union cause and associated with prominent New England intellectuals. In 1863, he was elected an officer of the New England Historic Genealogical Society .

Alger’s first novel, Marie Bertrand: The Felon’s Daughter, was initially serialized in the New York Weekly in 1864. In the same year, his first book specifically targeted at young readers, Frank’s Campaign, was published by A. K. Loring in Boston. While Alger had previously contributed to adult magazines such as Harper’s Magazine and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper , a developing friendship with William Taylor Adams , another author of boys’ literature, steered his focus toward a younger audience.

Ministry: 1864–1866

On December 8, 1864, Alger assumed the role of pastor at the First Unitarian Church and Society in Brewster, Massachusetts . In addition to his ministerial duties, he actively engaged with the young people of his parish, organizing recreational activities and speaking out against smoking and drinking. He also served as the president of the local chapter of the Cadets for Temperance. It was during this period that he submitted stories to The Student and Schoolmate , a monthly magazine for boys that featured morally instructive content, edited by William Taylor Adams and published in Boston by Joseph H. Allen. In September 1865, his second book for boys, Paul Prescott’s Charge, was released to generally positive reviews.

Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

In early 1866, reports emerged concerning Alger’s alleged sexual molestation of boys within the church. A committee of male parishioners was formed to investigate these claims. Church officials subsequently reported to their superiors in Boston that Alger had been accused of “the abominable and revolting crime of gross familiarity with boys.” Alger acknowledged his imprudence, considered his association with the church severed, and departed from Brewster. He conveyed a letter of remorse to the Unitarian officials in Boston, and his father assured them that his son would not seek another ministerial position. The officials, satisfied with these assurances, decided against pursuing any further action.

New York City: 1866–1896

In 1866, Alger relocated to New York City , where he dedicated himself to observing and understanding the lives of the city’s street children. He found in their experiences a rich source of material for his stories. This move marked a definitive departure from any aspirations for a career in the clergy, as he now fully committed himself to his writing. During this period, he penned “Friar Anselmo,” a poem that explores the theme of clerical atonement through good deeds. He became deeply interested in the plight of the thousands of orphaned and abandoned children who congregated in New York City in the aftermath of the Civil War. A visit to a children’s church service at Five Points inspired “John Maynard,” a ballad recounting an actual shipwreck on Lake Erie . This poem garnered not only the admiration of literary critics but also elicited a commendatory letter from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Alger also published two novels for adult readers, Helen Ford and Timothy Crump’s Ward, which met with a lukewarm reception. His fortunes improved with stories for boys published in Student and Schoolmate and his third boys’ book, Charlie Codman’s Cruise.

In January 1867, the initial installment of Ragged Dick began its serialization in Student and Schoolmate. The narrative, which depicted the ascent of a young bootblack toward middle-class respectability, proved to be an extraordinary success. The story was subsequently expanded and published as a standalone novel in 1868, ultimately becoming Alger’s best-selling work. Following the triumph of Ragged Dick, Alger concentrated almost exclusively on writing for boys, entering into a contract with publisher Loring for the creation of a Ragged Dick Series.

Despite the commercial success of the series, Alger’s financial situation remained precarious. He found supplementary income by tutoring the five sons of the international banker Joseph Seligman , residing in the Seligman family home until 1876. During this period, he also penned serials for Young Israel. By 1875, Alger produced the serials Shifting for Himself and Sam’s Chance, a sequel to The Young Outlaw. It became increasingly apparent that Alger’s narrative approach was becoming repetitive. As profits began to decline, Loring urged him to seek new inspiration in the West. Alger arrived in California in February 1877. He had the opportunity to reunite with his brother James in San Francisco before returning to New York late in 1877, traveling aboard a schooner that circumnavigated Cape Horn . In the subsequent years, he produced a few less impactful books, largely reiterating his established themes but now set against Western backdrops rather than urban ones.

While in New York, Alger continued his work tutoring the children of the city’s elite and rehabilitating boys from the streets. His literary output encompassed both urban and Western-themed narratives. For instance, in 1879, he published The District Messenger Boy and The Young Miner. By 1877, Alger’s fiction had drawn the attention of librarians who expressed concerns about the sensational nature of juvenile literature. Although efforts were made to remove his works from public collections, these attempts met with only partial success, ultimately being overshadowed by a resurgence of interest in his work following his death.

In 1881, Alger informally adopted Charlie Davis, a street boy, and later, in 1883, another boy named John Downie; both resided with Alger in his apartment. In 1881, he authored a biography of President James A. Garfield , though the work was characterized by contrived dialogues and juvenile excitement rather than strict factual reporting. The book achieved respectable sales. Alger was subsequently commissioned to write a biography of Abraham Lincoln , but again, his inclination as a boys’ novelist led him to prioritize thrilling narratives over historical accuracy.

Alger’s father passed away in 1882. Horatio Jr. continued to produce stories featuring virtuous boys who triumphed over wicked, avaricious squires and malicious peers. His works were published in both hardcover and paperback formats, and older poems found their way into anthologies. He maintained a busy social life, engaging with street boys, his Harvard classmates, and members of the social elite. In Massachusetts, he was held in a similar regard to figures like Harriet Beecher Stowe .

Last Years: 1896–1899

During the final two decades of the 19th century, the creative quality of Alger’s books began to decline. His narratives for boys increasingly devolved into mere repetitions of earlier plots and themes. The times had shifted, and young readers now expected more sophisticated content. A discernible strain of violence began to permeate Alger’s work; for example, in The Young Bank Messenger, a character is throttled and threatened with death, a degree of brutality absent in his earlier writings.

Alger frequented the theater and attended Harvard reunions, consumed literary magazines, and penned a poem in tribute to Longfellow upon his death in 1882. His final novel for adults, The Disagreeable Woman, was published under the pseudonym Julian Starr. He derived satisfaction from the successes of the boys he had informally adopted over the years, maintained his commitment to reform efforts, accepted speaking engagements, and would often read excerpts from Ragged Dick to gatherings of boys.

His popularity, and consequently his income, waned throughout the 1890s. In 1896, he experienced what he described as a “nervous breakdown ” and permanently relocated to the home of his sister in South Natick, Massachusetts . He suffered from bronchitis and asthma for two years, eventually succumbing to these ailments on July 18, 1899, at his sister’s residence. His passing was met with little public notice. He is interred in the family plot at Glenwood Cemetery in South Natick, Massachusetts.

Prior to his death, Alger had requested that Edward Stratemeyer complete his unfinished manuscripts. In 1901, Young Captain Jack was published, attributed as Alger’s final work, with Stratemeyer credited for its completion. Alger himself estimated his earnings between 1866 and 1896 to be around $100,000. Upon his death, he possessed little wealth, leaving only modest sums to family and friends. His literary estate was bequeathed to his niece, two boys he had informally adopted, and his sister Olive Augusta, who, in accordance with his wishes, reportedly destroyed his manuscripts and letters.

Alger’s works experienced a notable resurgence and received favorable critical commentary in the years following his death. By 1926, approximately 20 million copies of his books had been sold in the United States. However, by 1926, reader interest had significantly diminished, and his primary publisher ceased printing his books altogether. Surveys conducted in 1932 and 1947 revealed that very few children had read or even heard of Alger. The first biography of Alger, published in 1928 by [Herbert R. Mayes], was heavily fictionalized, and Mayes later admitted to its fraudulent nature.

Legacy

Since 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans has presented an annual award to individuals who have achieved success in the face of adversity, alongside scholarships designed to encourage young people to pursue their aspirations with determination and perseverance.

In her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , Maya Angelou recounts her childhood admiration for Alger, believing him to be “the greatest writer in the world,” and expresses a touch of envy that all his protagonists were boys.

In 1982, to commemorate his 150th birthday, the Children’s Aid Society organized a celebration. Helen M. Gray, the executive director of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, presented a collection of Alger’s books to Philip Coltoff, the executive director of the Children’s Aid Society.

A musical titled Shine! , based on Alger’s works, particularly Ragged Dick and Silas Snobden’s Office Boy, premiered in 1982.

In 2015, numerous Alger titles were reissued as illustrated paperbacks and e-books under the collective title “Stories of Success” by Horatio Alger. The same publisher also released dramatic audiobooks of his works.

Style and Themes

Gary Scharnhorst, a scholar of Alger’s work, describes his writing style as “anachronistic,” “often laughable,” yet “distinctive” and “distinguished by the quality of its literary allusions.” These allusions, ranging from the Bible and William Shakespeare (half of Alger’s books contain references to Shakespeare) to John Milton and Cicero , are presented as evidence of his erudition, setting his novels apart from typical pulp fiction .

Scharnhorst identifies six principal themes permeating Alger’s novels for boys. The first, the “Rise to Respectability,” is evident throughout his oeuvre, exemplified by the impoverished hero of Ragged Dick, who avows, “I mean to turn over a new leaf, and try to grow up ‘spectable.” His virtuous conduct leads not to immense wealth but, more plausibly, to a respectable clerical position with a stable salary. The second significant theme is “Character Strengthened Through Adversity.” In works like Strong and Steady and Shifting for Himself, affluent characters are reduced to poverty, compelling them to adapt to their new circumstances. Alger frequently invoked the example of a young Abe Lincoln as a representation of this theme for his young readers. The third theme, “Beauty versus Money,” became a cornerstone of Alger’s adult fiction, where characters forge romantic connections and marry based on character, talent, or intellect rather than financial standing. For instance, in The Train Boy, a wealthy heiress chooses to wed a talented but struggling artist, and in The Erie Train Boy, a poor woman secures her true love despite the interference of a rich, depraved suitor. Other prominent themes explored include the contrast between the “Old World versus the New.”

A common narrative thread runs through all of Alger’s novels: a boy striving to overcome poverty through hard work and upright living. However, it is often not solely his own efforts that extricate him from his predicament, but rather the intervention of a wealthy, older gentleman. This benefactor, impressed by an act of extraordinary bravery or honesty on the boy’s part—such as rescuing a child from an overturned carriage or returning a lost watch—takes the boy under his wing. He might offer him a place in his home as a ward or companion and assist him in securing a more advantageous position, sometimes displacing a less diligent or less honest employee.

According to Scharnhorst, Alger’s father experienced significant financial instability, defaulting on his debts in 1844. Properties owned by the elder Alger in the Chelsea area were seized and transferred to a local squire who held the mortgages. Scharnhorst posits that this childhood experience may account for the recurring theme in Alger’s boys’ books of heroes facing eviction or foreclosure. He further suggests that this may explain Alger’s “consistent espousal of environmental reform proposals.” Scharnhorst argues that Alger, who was financially insecure throughout his own life, might have engaged with reform organizations focused on temperance and children’s aid as a means of alleviating his own status anxiety and establishing himself as a figure of genteel leadership.

Scholar Edwin P. Hoyt observes that Alger’s moral framework seemed to “coarsen” around 1880, a shift potentially influenced by his immersion in Western narratives. Hoyt notes that “the most dreadful things were now almost casually proposed and explored.” Although Alger continued to write for boys, his stories began to incorporate elements of violence and exhibited “openness in the relations between the sexes and generations.” Hoyt attributes this evolution to the gradual decline of Puritanical ethics in American society.

Scholar John Geck contends that Alger relied on “formulas for experience rather than shrewd analysis of human behavior,” characterizing these formulas as “culturally centered” and “strongly didactic.” Geck argues that even though frontier society was largely a bygone era during Alger’s writing career, “the idea of the frontier, even in urban slums, provides a kind of fairy tale orientation in which a Jack mentality can be both celebrated and critiqued.” He posits that Alger’s intended readership comprised youths whose “motivations for action are effectively shaped by the lessons they learn.”

Geck further observes that the perception of the “pluck” characteristic of an Alger hero has evolved over time. During the Jazz Age and the Great Depression , the “Horatio Alger plot was viewed from the perspective of Progressivism as a staunch defense of laissez-faire capitalism, yet at the same time criticizing the cutthroat business techniques and offering hope to a suffering young generation during the Great Depression.” By the Atomic Age , however, “Alger’s hero was no longer a poor boy who, through determination and providence rose to middle-class respectability. He was instead the crafty street urchin who through quick wits and luck rose from impoverishment to riches.”

Geck notes that Alger’s themes have been transformed in modern America from their original meanings into a “male Cinderella ” myth and represent an Americanization of the traditional Jack tales. Each story features a clever hero, a “fairy godmother,” and obstacles hindering the hero’s progress. “However,” Geck writes, “the true Americanization of this fairy tale occurs in its subversion of this claiming of nobility; rather, the Alger hero achieves the American Dream in its nascent form, he gains a position of middle-class respectability that promises to lead wherever his motivation may take him.” Geck concludes that the reader is left to ponder what Cinderella achieved as Queen and what an Alger hero attained once his middle-class status was stabilized, stating, “[i]t is this commonality that fixes Horatio Alger firmly in the ranks of modern adaptors of the Cinderella myth.”

Personal Life

Gary Scharnhorst writes that Alger “exercised a certain discretion in discussing his probable homosexuality” and reportedly only alluded to his sexuality once after the incident in Brewster. In 1870, Henry James Sr. noted that Alger “talks freely about his own late insanity—which he in fact appears to enjoy as a subject of conversation.” While Alger was willing to discuss certain aspects of his life with James, his sexuality remained a closely guarded secret. Scharnhorst suggests that Alger embedded veiled references to homosexuality within his boys’ books, which he speculates indicate Alger’s “insecurity with his sexual orientation.” For example, Alger wrote that it was difficult to discern whether Tattered Tom was a boy or a girl, and in other instances, he introduced foppish, effeminate, lisping “stereotypical homosexuals” who were treated with scorn and pity by other characters. In Silas Snobden’s Office Boy, a kidnapped boy disguised as a girl is threatened with being sent to the “insane asylum” if he reveals his true sex. Scharnhorst believes that Alger’s desire to atone for his “secret sin” may have “spurred him to identify his own charitable acts of writing didactic books for boys with the acts of the charitable patrons in his books who wish to atone for a secret sin in their past by aiding the hero.” Scharnhorst points out that the patron in Try and Trust, for instance, conceals a “sad secret” from which he is redeemed only after saving the hero’s life.

Alan Trachtenberg , in his introduction to the Signet Classic edition of Ragged Dick (1990), highlights Alger’s profound empathy for boys and his discovery of a vocational calling in writing juvenile fiction. “He learned to consult the boy in himself,” Trachtenberg writes, “to transmute and recast himself—his genteel culture, his liberal patrician sympathy for underdogs, his shaky economic status as an author, and not least, his dangerous erotic attraction to boys—into his juvenile fiction.” Trachtenberg acknowledges the ambiguity surrounding Alger’s personal life, stating it is impossible to definitively ascertain whether Alger lived as a covert homosexual. However, he notes “hints that the male companionship he describes as a refuge from the streets—the cozy domestic arrangements between Dick and Fosdick, for example—may also be an erotic relationship.” Trachtenberg observes that while nothing overtly prurient occurs in Ragged Dick, he believes the few instances in Alger’s work where two boys touch, or a man and a boy touch, “might arouse erotic wishes in readers prepared to entertain such fantasies.” Such imagery, Trachtenberg suggests, might imply “a positive view of homoeroticism as an alternative way of life, of living by sympathy rather than aggression.” Trachtenberg concludes that in Ragged Dick, “we see Alger plotting domestic romance, complete with a surrogate marriage of two homeless boys, as the setting for his formulaic metamorphosis of an outcast street boy into a self-respecting citizen.”

Alger’s cousin was the Unitarian minister William Rounseville Alger . Although less widely known than Horatio, Gary Scharnhorst referred to William as the “more talented” cousin in his 1990 biography of William Alger.

Works

Main article: List of works by Horatio Alger Jr.

Notes

^ The charge is quoted as, “the abominable and revolting crime of unnatural familiarity with boys” in [34].

Citations

[1] Hoyt 1974, pp. 7, 9.
[2] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 17–18.
[3] Scharnhorst 1985, pp. 5–6.
[4] a b Alger 2008, p. 277.
[5] “Horatio Alger - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss”.
[6] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 10.
[7] Hoyt 1974, pp. 10–11.
[8] a b Hoyt 1974, p. 14.
[9] Scharnhorst 1985, pp. 11–13.
[10] a b Scharnhorst 1985, p. 14.
[11] a b Scharnhorst 1985, p. 15.
[12] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 17.
[13] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 21.
[14] Hoyt 1974, p. 18.
[15] Scharnhorst 1985, pp. 18–23.
[16] Scharnhorst 1985, pp. 26–27.
[17] Scharnhorst 1985, pp. 27–28.
[18] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 29.
[19] Hoyt 1974, pp. 24, 28.
[20] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 33.
[21] Hoyt 1974, pp. 27–28, 30–33.
[22] Scharnhorst 1980, “Chronology”.
[23] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 54.
[24] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 26.
[25] Hoyt 1974, pp. 40–48.
[26] a b Hoyt 1974, pp. 49–50.
[27] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 64.
[28] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 33.
[29] Hoyt 1974, p. 4.
[30] a b Scharnhorst 1985, p. 65.
[31] Alger 2008, p. 278.
[32] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 28.
[33] “Horatio Alger: The Moral of the Story”. December 23, 2015.
[34] Rupp, Leila J. (1999). A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-Sex Love in America. The University of Chicago Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780226731568.
[35] Hoyt 1974, pp. 1–6, 60–63.
[36] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 29–30.
[37] Scharnhorst 1985, p. 3.
[38] Johnson 1906, p. 78
[39] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 30–34.
[40] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 34.
[41] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 48
[42] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 35.
[43] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 35–36.
[44] a b c d e f Alger 2008, p. 279.
[45] Hoyt 1974, pp. 184–186.
[46] Hoyt 1974, p. 187.
[47] Hoyt 1974, pp. 187–188.
[48] Hoyt 1974, p. 190.
[49] Hoyt 1974, p. 199.
[50] a b Hoyt 1974, p. 201.
[51] Nackenoff 1994, pp. 250–257.
[52] Hoyt 1974, pp. 207–210.
[53] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 44–45.
[54] Hoyt 1974, p. 231.
[55] a b Scharnhorst 1980, p. 45.
[56] a b Scharnhorst 1980, p. 46.
[57] “Horatio Alger” (PDF). The New York Times . July 19, 1899. Retrieved March 4, 2015. Horatio Alger, writer of boys’ stories died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Amos Cheney at Natick, Massachusetts yesterday. …
[58] a b Hoyt 1974, p. 232.
[59] a b Alger 2008, p. 280.
[60] a b Scharnhorst 1980, p. 47.
[61] Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 811). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[62] Hoyt 1974, pp. 19, 252.
[63] “Horatio Alger, Jr.: A Biography” (PDF). Horatio Alger Association.
[64] Nation, 17 February 1932, 186 & New York Times 13 January 1947 23:2–3
[65] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 141.
[66] Hoyt 1974, p. 251.
[67] “Horatio Alger Award”. The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007. {{cite journal }} : Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
[68] Angelou, Maya (1969). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House. p. 74.
[69] Mitgang, Herbert (January 14, 1982). “Alger’s 150th Year Marked”. The New York Times . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
[70] Jones, Kenneth (October 16, 2001). “Musical of American Innocence, Shine!, Gets Cast Album”. Playbill . Playbill, Inc. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
[71] Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical
[72] “Stories of Success”. Sumner Books. 2015. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
[73] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 73–74.
[74] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 75–76.
[75] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 76–78.
[76] Alger, Horatio Jr. (1893). Dan, The Newsboy: The Story of a Boy’s Life in the Streets of New York. New York: A. L. Burt Company – via Michigan State University Special Collections (PS1029.A3 D3).
[77] Scharnhorst 1980, p. 18.
[78] Hoyt 1974, p. 207.
[79] Geck, John. “Why Horatio?”. Rochester edu.
[80] Scharnhorst 1980, pp. 37–38.
[81] Alger 1990, p. ix.
[82] Trachtenberg 1990, pp. ix–x.
[83] Cite error: The named reference Richardson was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
[84] “Academic Book: Literary Biography of William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905). A Neglected Member of the Concord Circle”. edwinmellen.com. Retrieved December 4, 2021.

General references

Alger, Horatio Jr. (2015). Ragged Dick (Illustrated). Hermosa Beach, California: Sumner Books. ISBN 9781939104144.
Alger, Horatio Jr. (2008). Hildegard Hoeller (ed.). Ragged Dick. Norton Critical Editions . W. W. Norton & Company . ISBN 978-0-393-92589-0.
Alger, Horatio Jr. (1990). Alan Trachtenberg (ed.). Ragged Dick. Signet Classic . ISBN 0-451-52480-2.
Hoyt, Edwin P. (1974). Horatio’s Boys. Chilton Book Company. ISBN 0-8019-5966-7.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Johnson, Rossiter , ed. (1906). “Alger, Horatio, Jr.”. The Biographical Dictionary of America . Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 78.
Nackenoff, Carol (1994). The Fictional Republic. Oxford University Press . ISBN 0-19-507923-X.
Scharnhorst, Gary (1980). Horatio Alger Jr. Twayne Publishers . ISBN 0-8057-7252-9.
Scharnhorst, Gary; Bales, Jack (1985). The Lost Life of Horatio Alger Jr. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-14915-2.