abstract:Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks is a Bildungsroman by Horatio Alger, Jr. serialized in Student and Schoolmate in 1867, and released as a full length novel in May 1868 by A.
The "rags-to-riches" catch-phrase notwithstanding, when you examine Alger's novellas, it's clear that the heroes like RaggedDick and Tattered Tom were more concerned about social status and self-respect than about amassing great wealth.