Rough and Ready Or, Life Among the New York Newsboys

Horatio Alger, Jr.Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.5
Word count
271K words
Chapters
28

Tags

English Originals Social Fiction Social ObservationPortrait GalleryFate and FortuneUrban RomanceHuman NatureInspirationComing of AgeGrowing UpHeartwarming NarrativeYouth Reading

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Rough and Ready; Or, Life Among the New York Newsboys by Jr. Horatio Alger. Author: Alger, Horatio, Jr., 1832-1899. Language: English. Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Release Date: Jul 17, 2017

Editor's review

This is a young adult novel by Horatio Alger Jr., telling the story of the lives and struggles of New York street newsboys as a typical inspirational coming-of-age tale. Set against the urban underclass of nineteenth-century New York, the plot follows the newsboys as they make a living, deal with people, and face hardships, conveying the values of self-reliance, honesty, and diligence. The language is plain, the chapters are short, and the plot moves briskly, making it suitable as light reading in the original English and as a way to learn about American urban children's lives and popular literature of the period. Note that the work carries obvious period moralizing, its characters are rather one-dimensional, and its treatment of social problems is mild. It is best read as popular fiction in its historical context rather than as a masterpiece of social realism, which makes its period features as inspirational narrative easier to appreciate.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read a chapter a day and summarize the plot in your own words after each chapter, combining English comprehension and retelling practice.
  2. While reading, note details such as how the newsboys make a living, prices, and city place names to grasp the period setting.
  3. Read alongside similar nineteenth-century American young adult novels and observe the common patterns of inspirational narrative.
  4. After finishing, write a short review discussing whether the book's treatment of poverty and success is credible.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28

FAQ

What English level is this book suitable for? It is generally an intermediate-to-easy original English reader, with short sentences, everyday vocabulary, and short chapters. Readers with basic grammar and common vocabulary can try it; for period words, infer from context rather than looking up every word.
Is the story suitable for children? It can serve as English reading material for young adults, but note that the work contains nineteenth-century moralizing and period prejudice. Parents or teachers are advised to read along and guide children to discuss the book's views on poverty, success, and class rather than simply accepting its value judgments.
What kind of Alger work is this? It is a typical Alger street-boy struggle story, centered on New York newsboys and revolving around making a living, honesty, and self-reliance. It shares themes and structure with the author's other young adult novels and is a good introductory sample for understanding his style.

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About the author

Horatio Alger, Jr. Author · American · 1832–1899

Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832–1899) was an American writer, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and died in Natick. He is known for his "rags-to-riches" novels, in which poor boys rise through diligence, integrity, and opportunity. His best-known work, Ragged Dick (1868), depicts the street life and struggles of a New York bootblack. The library holds 101 of his works, including Charlie Codman's Cruise, Dan, the Newsboy, and Bound to Rise; most were written for young readers, with brisk plots and an optimistic tone that typically rewards honest effort. These books deeply influenced nineteenth-century American "self-made" culture, making the "Alger hero" a popular symbol of striving. Public information on other details of his life is limited.