Other editions of book Tattered Tom; or, The Story of a Street Arab

Horatio Alger Jr.(1832 – 1899), wrote over 100 poems, short stories, and novels during his lifetime, which included four adult novels and one adult novella. He gained notoriety when his friendship with ‘William Taylor Adams’, a boys’ author, changed Alger’s interest to writing for the juvenile market. His first book for young people, “Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York,” was a huge success, securing the author’s fame among the youth of America. Tattered Tom, or The Story of a Street Arab is unique in that it is one of the very few Horatio Alger novels to contain a female heroine. It is a charming tale, with a delightful little heroine whose courage, independence, and ‘street-smarts’ help her to survive abduction, cruelty, hunger and deprivation amid the downtown streets of New York. ‘Tom’s’ adventures introduce her to helpful friends, who assist in educating, and lifting her to a higher state, as well as enemies, who falsely accuse the child of theft, thus thrusting her back into the streets. Through desire, perseverance, and a little luck, Tom is reunited with the mother she was cruelly abducted from, regains her true name of ‘Jenny’, and elevates her position to one of prosperity, kindness, and love. Further information on this prolific author will be found in the foreward provided by AlwaysWrite Ent. Many of the books offered by AlwaysWrite Ent. are provided exactly as the author presented them in their original format. All works have been entered, and edited by hand, and not merely scanned. They have been spell-checked, and punctuation corrected where necessary.

When, three years since, the author published "Ragged Dick," he was far from anticipating the flattering welcome it would receive, or the degree of interest which would be excited by his pictures of street life in New York. The six volumes which comprised his original design are completed, but the subject is not exhausted. There are yet other phases of street life to be described, and other classes of street Arabs, whose fortunes deserve to be chronicled."Tattered Tom" is therefore presented to the public as the initial volume of a new series of six stories, which may be regarded as a continuation of the "Ragged Dick Series." Some surprise may be felt at the discovery that Tom is a girl; but I beg to assure my readers that she is not viiione of the conventional kind. Though not without her good points, she will be found to differ very widely in tastes and manners from the young ladies of twelve usually to be met in society. I venture to hope that she will become a favorite in spite of her numerous faults, and that no less interest will be felt in her fortunes than in those of the heroes of earlier volumes.New York, April, 1871.

Horatio Alger, Jr. ( January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many 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. Essentially, all of Alger's juvenile novels share the same theme: a teenage boy works hard to escape poverty. Often though, it is not the hard work itself 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.