General Notes

Alger, Horatio (1834-99), American writer of juvenile fiction, born in
Revere, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity
School. Ordained (1864) a Unitarian minister, in 1866 he became chaplain of
a lodging house for newsboys in New York City.

In Alger's first volume of fiction, Ragged Dick (1867), and in similar
works, he portrayed underprivileged youths who win fame and wealth by
practicing such virtues as honesty, diligence, and perseverance. Luck and
Pluck and Tattered Tom appeared in 1869 and 1871, respectively. Alger wrote
more than 100 such works. Although of little literary significance, his
novels influenced American youth by emphasizing merit, rather than mere
social status, as the chief determinant of success.