Ragged Dick facts for kids
Illustration from the first edition
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| Author | Horatio Alger, Jr. |
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| Original title | Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ragged Dick Series |
| Genre | Boys' book |
| Publisher | A. K. Loring |
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Publication date
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May 5, 1868 |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | Fame 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.
Story
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.
Images for kids
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A plate from an early edition depicting a "smasher" (luggage boy), a newsboy, and two bootblacks
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Bootblacks, circa 1870
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The Bowery Theatre, one of Ragged Dick's haunts before his reformation
