Ragged Dick

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Ragged Dick
Illustration from the first edition
AuthorHoratio Alger, Jr.
Original titleRagged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRagged Dick Series
GenreBoys' book
PublisherA. K. Loring
Publication date
May 5, 1868
Media typePrint
Followed byFame and Fortune 

Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks is a boys' book by Horatio Alger, Jr. It was published in parts (serialization) in the magazine Student and Schoolmate in 1867. It was then published as a book in 1868 by A. K. Loring of Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first of six books in the Ragged Dick series. It was Alger's bestselling book.[1]

Story[change | change source]

Ragged Dick is a poor bootblack (shoe shine boy) in New York City. He makes his life better by working hard and being honest. He opens a bank account and takes a frail boy named Fosdick into his little apartment. Fosdick teaches Dick to read, write, and do arithmetic. One day, Dick saves a rich man's child from drowning. He is rewarded with money and a clerk's job in the man's firm.

References[change | change source]

  1. Scharnhorst, Gary; Bales, Jack (1985). The Lost Life of Horatio Alger, Jr. Indiana University Press. pp. 81–7. ISBN 978-0-253-20648-0.