5 h 31 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 31 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take to build a better life when selling papers is how you survive?
Rufus lives by his own effort on the streets of New York. He sells papers and takes whatever honest work he can find. In Rufus and Rose; Or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready, Horatio Alger Jr. follows a boy with little money, a strong sense of fairness, and no easy road toward respectability.
Rose’s fortunes are tied to Rufus’s, and their friendship gives his ambition a purpose beyond himself. In this world of young people working to live, loyalty and care matter alongside steady effort. The story asks what good habits and honest work can change—and what it means to rise without forgetting the people who depend on you.
What you’ll discover
- Life on the street Enter the New York of newsboys, where earning a living takes effort each day.
- A boy worth following Meet Rufus, whose sense of fairness guides his efforts to earn a better place.
- Bonds beyond ambition Follow Rufus and Rose’s friendship, where loyalty gives personal hopes a wider meaning.
- The value of persistence Explore Alger’s belief that steady work and good habits can help change a life.
- Respectability through honest effort Consider a vision of success rooted in character, not in luck alone.
Who will love it
Fans of adventures with spirited boys, devoted siblings, and a rise to respectability will love this novel. So will readers drawn to Victorian New York and young heroes whose honesty and work lead to success.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A newsboy starts work on Wall Street
- A seamstress finds a home by chance
- Martin sinks while Rufus climbs
- Rufus learns how to live among respectable people
- Martin returns and falls in with counterfeiters
- A tin box is stolen and a boy takes the blame
- Honest work against the idea that the world owes a living
- How the story is told and what to watch for
Who’s who
- Rufus RushtonA sturdy former newsboy nicknamed Rough and Ready, now an office boy on Wall Street, who wants to protect his sister and get ahead honestly.
- RoseRufus's lively eight-year-old sister, who is afraid of her stepfather and loves her brother dearly.
- Miss ManningA kind seamstress who becomes Rose's guardian and a governess, grateful for a better life and loyal to the children.
- James MartinThe idle, drunken stepfather of Rufus and Rose, who wants to live without working and keeps trying to profit from the children.
- Mr. TurnerA careful and respected Wall Street broker who hires Rufus, watches his progress, and trusts him with important duties.
- SmithA scarred, smooth-talking counterfeiter who uses Martin as a tool and cares only for his own gain.
- HumpyA sixteen-year-old errand boy in Smith's house, sharp and secretive, who keeps a calico bag of savings and a grudge.
- George BlackAn out-of-work clerk who becomes Rufus's partner in a small periodicals shop on Sixth Avenue.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Rufus et Rose, ou les fortunes de Rude et Vaillant
by Horatio Alger Jr. · 1870
A Wall Street office boy, once a newsboy, must outwit his drunken stepfather to protect his little sister.
Easy read5–10 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
What does a street boy do on the first Monday of a new life, with eight dollars a week, five hundred dollars in a savings bank, and a little sister to protect from a stepfather who wants her back? Rufus and Rose, or the Fortunes of Rough and Ready, is the sixth and last book of Horatio Alger Jr.'s Ragged Dick Series.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A newsboy starts work on Wall Street
The story opens on a Monday morning in a shabby room on Franklin Street. Rufus, a sturdy fifteen-year-old, has just given up selling newspapers. He is about to begin work in the office of Mr. Turner, a broker, at eight dollars a week.
Rufus's mother is dead, and his stepfather, James Martin, is a drunkard who lived off the boy's earnings. Rufus took his little sister Rose out of that home and paid Miss Manning, a poor seamstress, to care for her. Martin stole Rose away to Brooklyn just to torment her brother, and Rufus has only now got her back.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1870
- Language
- français
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Alger, Horatio, Jr. Rufus and Rose; Or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/rufus-and-rose-or-the-fortunes-of-rough-and-ready.
Alger, H., Jr. (2026). Rufus and Rose; or, the fortunes of Rough and Ready. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rufus-and-rose-or-the-fortunes-of-rough-and-ready (Original work published 1870)
Alger, Horatio, Jr. Rufus and Rose; Or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rufus-and-rose-or-the-fortunes-of-rough-and-ready.
@book{alger2026rufus,
author = {Alger, Horatio, Jr.},
title = {Rufus and Rose; Or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rufus-and-rose-or-the-fortunes-of-rough-and-ready},
note = {First published 1870}
}
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What is Rufus and Rose about?
It follows Rufus, a former New York newsboy, as he starts work on Wall Street, looks after his little sister Rose, and faces his drunken stepfather James Martin, who steals a tin box and sets a trap for him.
Who is Rough and Ready in this book?
Rough and Ready is the nickname Rufus Rushton earned as a newsboy in New York. It describes his self-reliance and readiness to look after himself, and it gives the earlier book about his adventures its name.
Is Rufus and Rose part of a series?
Yes. It is the sixth and final volume of Horatio Alger's Ragged Dick Series, and it follows the earlier book Rough and Ready. The preface, dated 1870, announces a new set of street-life stories called the Tattered Tom Series.
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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