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| | Random House Publishing Group | Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Jr. |
 | | Written to inspire schoolboys to strive for “honesty, industry, frugality, and a worthy ambition,” the novels of Horatio Alger (1832—99) are infused with great humanity, broad humor, and a surprisingly sophisticated view of Gilded Age propriety. |
 | | Central to Alger’s philosophy is the notion that heroes like Ragged Dick, a poor boot-fl, manage to get ahead by dint of hard work, resourcefulness, luck, pluck, and fair play. |
 | | Alger’s upwardly mobile heroes have become paragons of middle-class comfort and moral standing, and their journeys from rags to respectability have long been viewed as the very embodiment of the American Dream. |
| www.randomhouse.com /rhpg/catalog/display.pperl?0812973585 (144 words) |
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