It's a Horatio Alger Story

I've never read a Horatio Alger story, but I've heard the expression all my life. The expression refers to a classic rags-to-riches narrative, where someone overcomes poverty, hardship, or adversity through hard work, determination, and moral virtue to achieve success. 

The author of this series of books was Horatio Alger Jr., a 19th-century American author who wrote over 100 popular novels, mostly for young boys, featuring protagonists who rise from humble beginnings to middle-class respectability. As you can see from the titles here, the stories tend to emphasize self-reliance, perseverance, and luck—like being in the right place at the right time or meeting a benefactor. The reason Alger is not included in lists of "Great American Authors" is that all his books followed the same formula. Though he never tired of producing them, sales tapered off as the stories grew stale and predictable. 

What's funny is how well-known the expression is, whereas I doubt that I have ever actually met anyone who has read a Horatio Alger story. The phrase is commonly used to describe real-life success stories that mirror the archetype. Nowadays some would say the idealism expressed in these stories is dated, as Alger’s tales reflect a simpler, more moralistic view of success that doesn’t always align with modern complexities or cynicism. (Again, I admit to not having read any of the stories and base what I do know on personal speculation and a lecture I heard several years back about American bestsellers.)

For what it's worth, if your interest is piqued by this brief intro, you can find some of the originals, pictured above, at Chester Creek Books & Antiques here in Duluth.

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Here are some quotes attributed to this 19th century author.

--Success does not mean the absence of failure; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives.

--To err is human, to forgive divine.

--So long as there is life, hope is never absent.

--There is nothing more powerful than honesty, and nothing more valuable than integrity.

--The surest way to achieve success is to act as if it was already within your grasp.

--There is no royal road to learning; it comes only through persevering effort, hard work, and constant self-improvement.

--Opportunities don't happen. You create them.

--The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

--Your destiny is not determined by your circumstances, but by your choices.

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