Other editions of book Adrift in New York by Horatio Alger, Jr., Fiction, Historical, Action & Adventure

Horatio Alger was a man who lived with a terrible secret, a secret dark and troubling, something shameful, in fact. As a young man, that secret took hold of his life, and he left the life and the life's work he had made for himself in Boston, to take up residence among the poor in New York City. Ensconced there, he worked among the poor and took to writing tales of their success. His novels captured the imagination of a nation bursting with a new wave of immigrants who'd come to our shores, come to the very port of New York City that was Alger's new home. He used the wealth that came to him to help the poor folks who he loved, and took his secret to the grave.

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"Adrift in New York" involves the disappearance of a son from the household of his wealthy father, John Linden. The boy has been kidnapped by the villainous Curtis Waring, John Linden's nephew, who hopes to inherit the family fortune. Grown up, the youngster lives a precarious life on the streets of New York. When Linden's ward Florence rejects the unwanted attentions of Waring, she is disinherited, forced to live in a tenement and work in a sweatshop . . . until it is discovered that the young man who befriends her is, in reality, Linden's long-lost son.

If you’ve ever used the phrase “rags to riches,” you owe that to Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899), who popularized the idea through his fictional writings that also served as a theme for the way America viewed itself as a country. Alger’s works about poor boys rising to better living conditions through hard work, determination, courage, honesty, and morals was popular with both adults and younger readers. Alger’s writings happened to correspond with America’s Gilded Age, a time of increasing prosperity in a nation rebuilding from the Civil War. His lifelong theme of rags to riches continued to gain popularity but has gradually lessened since the 1920s. Still, readers today often come across Ragged Dick and stories like it in school.

"Set in 19th century New York, this is the story of a wealthy old man who adopts his orphaned nephew and niece after his own four year old son mysteriously disappears. However, under a smooth exterior, the nephew is a conniving and avaricious villain who wants to grab all the old man's wealth for himself. This is also the story of a young boy, who doesn't know he's the sole heir to a fabulous fortune, but grows up homeless in the streets of New York. The villainous nephew proposes marriage to his cousin with a view to grabbing the entire inheritance. The story takes several twists and turns before it reaches its unexpected conclusion.Adrift in New York was published in 1900. It is one of the 135 novels written by Horatio Alger Jr., an extremely prolific writer of young adult literature. Most of his books were centered on boys in poor circumstances who rise above them through hard work, honesty, courage and determination. Another important theme in all his books is how a stroke of luck or a fortuitous meeting with a rich, older philanthropist changes the life of his young hero.Alger was born in a relatively well to do family with strong roots in the Church. His ancestors were early New England settlers who were among the founding fathers of America. Alger Sr. was a Unitarian minister who hoped that his son would follow him into the ministry, but financial troubles soon compelled young Horatio to abandon these plans. He finished school and went up to Harvard, where he did extremely well academically. By this time he had begun writing and was submitting poems and short pieces to local newspapers and magazines. After college, he returned home with few work prospects. Circumstances forced him to take up an editing job which he hated. In less than a year, he left to begin teaching at a boys' boarding school. He continued writing novels, which were told from a woman's point of view. He drifted between different careers, and finally retired to New York, where he wrote his first bestseller, Ragged Dick. A life of relative ease and wealth began and he adopted several street boys whom he guided into successful careers. He continued to write almost formulaic novels centered round the rags-to-riches theme.Adrift in New York was extremely popular in its time, like most of Alger's novels. At one time, Alger's fame rivaled that of Mark Twain's in the American imagination. Though hardly known or read now, Alger's novels are interesting and make a very pleasant read."

Adrift in New York Chapter I. The Missing Heir. "Uncle, you are not looking well to-night." "I'm not well, Florence. I sometimes doubt if I shall ever be any better." "Surely, uncle, you cannot mean----" "Yes, my child, I have reason to believe that I am nearing the end." "I cannot bear to hear you speak so, uncle," said Florence Linden, in irrepressible agitation. "You are not an old man. You are but fifty-four." "True, Florence, but it is not years only that make a man old. Two great sorrows have embittered my life. First, the death of my dearly beloved wife, and next, the loss of my boy, Harvey." "It is long since I have heard you refer to my cousin's loss. I thought you had become reconciled--no, I do not mean that,--I thought your regret might be less poignant." "I have not permitted myself to speak of it, but I have never ceased to think of it day and night." John Linden paused sadly, then resumed: "If he had died, I might, as you say, have become reconciled; but he was abducted at the age of four by a revengeful servant whom I had discharged from my employment. Heaven knows whether he is living or dead, but it is impressed upon my mind that he still lives, it may be in misery, it may be as a criminal, while I, his unhappy father, live on in luxury which I cannot enjoy, with no one to care for me----" Florence Linden sank impulsively on her knees beside her uncle's chair.

Adrift in New York involves the disappearance of a son from the household of his wealthy father, John Linden. The boy has been kidnapped by the villainous Curtis Waring, John Linden's nephew, who hopes to inherit the family fortune. Grown up, the youngster lives a precarious life on the streets of New York. When Linden's ward Florence rejects the unwanted attentions of Waring, she is disinherited, forced to live in a tenement and work in a sweatshop . . . until it is discovered that the young man who befriends her is, in reality, Linden's long-lost son.

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 the boy from his fate but rather some extraordinary act of bravery or honesty. The boy might return a large sum of lost money or rescue someone from an overturned carriage. This brings the boy—and his plight—to the attention of a wealthy individual. By the time he died in 1899, Alger had published around a hundred volumes. Scholar John Geck observes that Alger's themes have been transformed in modern America from their original meanings into a male Cinderella myth and are an Americanization of the traditional Jack tales. Each story has its clever hero, its "fairy godmother", and obstacles and hindrances to the hero's rise. "However", he writes, "the true Americanization of this fairy tale occurs in its subversion of this claiming of nobility; rather, the Alger hero achieves the American Dream in its nascent form, he gains a position of middle-class respectability that promises to lead wherever his motivation may take him". The reader may speculate what Cinderella achieved as Queen and what an Alger hero attained once his middle-class status was stabilized, and "[i]t is this commonality that xes Horatio Alger rmly in the ranks of modern adaptors of the Cinderella myth".This classic title has been published by RADLEY BOOKS. Each RADLEY CLASSIC is a meticulously restored, luxurious and faithful reproduction of a classic book; produced with elegant text layout, clarity of presentation, and stylistic features that make reading a true pleasure. Special attention is given to legible fonts and adequate letter sizing, correct line length for readability, generous margins and triple lead (lavish line separation); plus we do not allow any mistakes/changes/additions to creep into the author’s words.Visit RADLEY BOOKS at www.radleybooks.com (or search RADLEY CLASSIC on Amazon) to see more classic book titles in this series.