The cover page is adapted from Central Park and the Plaza, a painting completed in 1918 by William A. Coffin. The cover and title pages feature the League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by The League of Moveable Type. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Anderson_Coffinwww.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
Ragged Dick
Chapters (29)
- Dedication 0:00
- Preface 0:10
- I: Ragged Dick Is Introduced to the Reader 1:56
- II: Johnny Nolan 12:37
- III: Dick Makes a Proposition 22:33
- IV: Dick’s New Suit 32:29
- V: Chatham Street and Broadway 42:59
- VI: Up Broadway to Madison Square 56:43
- VII: The Pocketbook 1:06:51
- VIII: Dick’s Early History 1:18:24
- IX: A Scene in a Third Avenue Car 1:27:14
- X: Introduces a Victim of Misplaced Confidence 1:41:36
- XI: Dick as a Detective 1:52:54
- XII: Dick Hires a Room on Mott Street 2:05:22
- XIII: Micky Maguire 2:15:08
- XIV: A Battle and a Victory 2:25:08
- XV: Dick Secures a Tutor 2:36:38
- XVI: The First Lesson 2:48:19
- XVII: Dick’s First Appearance in Society 2:59:53
- XVIII: Micky Maguire’s Second Defeat 3:11:57
- XIX: Fosdick Changes His Business 3:23:38
- XX: Nine Months Later 3:35:49
- XXI: Dick Loses His Bankbook 3:49:05
- XXII: Tracking the Thief 4:01:28
- XXIII: Travis Is Arrested 4:14:17
- XXIV: Dick Receives a Letter 4:24:02
- XXV: Dick Writes His First Letter 4:34:59
- XXVI: An Exciting Adventure 4:43:17
- XXVII: Conclusion 4:53:18
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Dick Hunter is a shoeshiner working and living on the streets of New York City in the mid-19th century. Despite being dealt a bad hand, Dick attempts to extricate himself from his situation and become respectable. But it won’t be easy, thanks to the bullies, con men, and thieves that roam the city. Dick has to outmatch them with his wits, his work ethic, his honesty, and a bit of luck.
Ragged Dick is Alger’s most well-known novel, and it sets the formula for the numerous subsequent rags-to-riches stories for which he became famous. It also introduces the “Alger hero,” a character archetype who rises out of poverty through cleverness and hard work, into the American literary canon.