Horatio Alger, Jr. (; January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American
author, best known for his many
young-adult fiction novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. His writings were characterized by the "
rags to riches" narrative, which had a formative effect on America during the
Gilded Age.