5 h 20 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a country boy carry into New York City when he has little money and no powerful family?
In From Farm to Fortune, Horatio Alger Jr. follows a young country hero from a hard start toward the opportunities of the city. The journey tests more than his ambition. Among strangers who may cheat a newcomer, he needs to find a way forward without giving up the honesty that Alger places at the heart of success.
This novel for young readers brings Alger's faith in work, courage and kindness into focus. A humble beginning need not close every door, but effort alone is not the whole story. Luck and help from others also matter in his world. The promise is not simply wealth, but the chance to become comfortable and respected.
What you’ll discover
- A start without advantages Follow a country boy whose lack of money does not put ambition beyond reach.
- Character before money Explore Alger's belief that honesty gives a young hero something more valuable than cash.
- The city's double promise Enter a world where opportunity draws newcomers and strangers may take advantage of them.
- Effort meets good fortune Consider how hard work shares its place with luck in Alger's picture of progress.
- Success with a moral Discover a view of getting ahead that asks a boy to hold onto kindness.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like rags to riches stories, lively city adventures, honest young heroes, and tales of tricksters caught out by quick wits.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy with no say on the farm
- Leaving with a cow and a plan
- The city teaches its first lessons
- Hard work and a hundred dollars
- A swindler named Hamilton Dart
- A new post and a new set of enemies
- What the story is about
Who’s who
- Nat NasonA sixteen year old Ohio orphan who leaves his stingy uncle's farm to make his own fortune in New York.
- Abner BalberryNat's miserly uncle and guardian, who works the boy hard and believes he is a fine man.
- Mrs. FeltonThe gentle housekeeper on the Balberry farm who looks after Nat when she can.
- Paul HamptonA young Niagara Falls lawyer whom Nat saves, and who helps Nat with a gift and a letter.
- Dick TalcottA New York newsboy whose mother takes in boarders and who becomes Nat's friend in the city.
- John GarwellA stout real estate broker who gives Nat a job and trains him as a private clerk.
- Hamilton DartA smooth talking confidence man who tricks young clerks into paying him a hundred dollars each.
- Rufus CameronMrs. Parloe's scheming nephew, who wants his aunt's property and stops at nothing to get a document.
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- Audiobook
- 5 h 20 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 5 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear De la granja a la fortuna in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
De la granja a la fortuna
by Horatio Alger Jr. · 1905
A hungry Ohio farm boy sells his cow and heads for New York, sure no one can fool him.
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In short
What would you do at sixteen with a stingy guardian, an empty stomach and a cow to sell? Nat Nason sells the cow and heads for New York.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy with no say on the farm
Nat Nason is sixteen, an orphan, and the ward of his uncle Abner Balberry on a farm near Caswell, Ohio. Abner is the meanest man in the district, though he thinks of himself as a pillar of the church.
The opening scene shows the pattern. Nat goes fishing after finishing his hoeing, and Abner calls him lazy. A new cow, Jule, knocks the farmer flat in a pool of spilled milk, and Nat is blamed. He is sent to bed without supper, while the kind housekeeper, Mrs. Felton, can only look on.
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What is From Farm to Fortune about?
It tells of Nat Nason, a sixteen year old Ohio orphan who leaves his stingy uncle's farm and goes to New York, where he is cheated, finds friends, and works toward success.
Who is Hamilton Dart in From Farm to Fortune?
Hamilton Dart is the false name of Nick Smithers, a confidence man who advertises for clerks and takes a hundred dollar deposit from each, including Nat.
Who is Paul Hampton?
Paul Hampton is a young lawyer from Niagara Falls whom Nat saves from the rapids. He thanks Nat with a train ticket, new clothes, and a sealed letter with a gift.
The author
Horatio Alger Jr.
1832–1899 · American novelist
Horatio Alger Jr. (1832–1899) was an American novelist. He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and died in Natick, Massachusetts. He moved to New York City in 1866. He wrote novels for young readers during the nineteenth century, including Ragged Dick (1868) and Fame and Fortune (1868).
More by Horatio Alger Jr.
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