Horatio Alger

The Telegraph Boy Horatio Alger

Most of Alger novels begin with a teen-age son forced to leave home to earn money to support a family member, often his mother. However, the story of Frank Kavanagh starts with him on his own. His unkind Uncle and Aunt tossed him out with enough money to get from outside Hartford, Connecticut, to New York City. Frank works at a variety of jobs and has many experiences that, again, provide the reader with action and adventure from start to finish. Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 - July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile 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.