Horatio Alger Jr. (1832 - 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American writer, best known for his many young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. His writings were characterized by the "rags-to-riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the Gilded Age. All of Alger's juvenile novels share essentially the same theme, known as the "Horatio Alger myth" a teenage boy works hard to escape poverty. Often it is not hard work that rescues...

This book is the story of Robert Rushton. His father, a sea captain, has been disappeared since he went on a voyage two years earlier. He has problems of his own as a young teenager. The son of the superintendent where he works is jealous of him and tries to lord his superiority over him. Young Robert who seems doomed to a life of poverty never gives up hope and his honesty and bravery are rewarded as he goes along. I definitely recommend this to young boys who will see that honesty and bravery indeed have some rewards. While it may seem a little far-fetched to adult readers, it is very...