Horatio Alger Jr. fu un prolifico autore americano del XIX secolo, rinomato per i suoi romanzi che descrivevano l'ascesa di ragazzi impoveriti da umili origini a una rispettabile sicurezza e agiatezza borghese. Le sue narrazioni esploravano costantemente temi come il duro lavoro, la determinazione e l'integrità morale, illustrando come i giovani svantaggiati potessero realizzare il Sogno Americano attraverso la virtù e la perseveranza. Lo stile distintivo di Alger e la sua rappresentazione della mobilità sociale hanno profondamente risuonato tra i lettori della sua epoca, consolidando la sua importanza nella storia culturale americana.
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Excerpt from The Store Boy: Or the Fortunes of Ben Barclay "Give me a ride?" Ben Barclay checked the horse he was driving and looked attentively at the speaker. He was a stout-built, dark-complexioned man, with a beard of a week's growth, wearing an old and dirty suit, which would have reduced any tailor to despair if taken to him for cleaning and repairs. A loose hat, with a torn crown, surmounted a singularly ill-favored visage. "A tramp, and a hard-looking one!" said Ben to himself. He hesitated about answering, being naturally reluctant to have such a traveling companion. "Well, what do you say?" demanded the tramp, rather impatiently. "There's plenty of room on that seat, and I'm dead tired." "Where are you going?" asked Ben. "Same way you are - to Pentonville."