9 h 58 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the magic lamp were a business scheme—and a whole town believed in its promise?
In Aladdin & Co., Herbert Quick brings the promise of a fairy tale into the world of American business. The magic lies in bold plans, land deals and confident talk. In the Midwest of new railroads and rising towns, a clever person can seem to conjure a fortune from almost nothing.
But building a town means more than making money. Ambition can lift a community, and getting ahead carries a price. Quick explores that tension with color, humor and a sometimes wry voice. His close knowledge of the Midwest gives this romance of American growth a setting where belief in a place can become a powerful force.
What you’ll discover
- A different kind of magic See how the old lamp becomes a figure for bold American business schemes.
- A town built on belief Explore the confidence that makes a crowd believe in a place barely there.
- The cost of ambition Consider how the drive to get ahead can also lift a whole community.
- The Midwest taking shape Enter a world of land deals, new railroads and towns that rise almost overnight.
- Color and wry humor Settle into a leisurely romance whose lively voice gives ambition room to unfold.
Who will love it
For readers who like a lively narrator, small-town comedy, schemes that grow bigger by the chapter, and a love triangle among bankers and railroad men.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger leaves Albert with questions
- Jim believes booms can be manufactured
- Lattimore becomes Albert's new venture
- Headlines turn expectation into rising prices
- Private desires enter the public venture
- New wealth threatens an established life
- The boom cannot simply stop
- The jokes carry a serious warning
- Growth becomes dependent on more growth
Who’s who
- Albert BarslowA former county treasurer and political organizer who tells the story, joins Jim in business, and wants to keep his wife and friends safe.
- Jim ElkinsA quick-talking promoter and old boyhood friend who wants to build Lattimore into a great city and to win Josie.
- Alice BarslowAlbert's sharp and loving wife, who befriends Josie, distrusts Cornish, and wants Jim to win her.
- Josie TrescottA farmer's daughter educated in art and Europe, calm in manner, who wants to protect her father and is torn between two suitors.
- J. Bedford CornishA polished Wall Street financier with a magnetic voice and a past with Josie, who wants her and a safe profit.
- Captain TolliverA Confederate veteran and land agent who speaks in grand phrases and wants Lattimore to become a great city.
- Antonia HinckleyA lively banker's daughter who drives fast horses and loves Jim, while Cecil Barr-Smith loves her.
- General LattimoreThe town's old founder and Union soldier, who distrusts speculation and warns that land booms end in ruin.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- 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
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Aladdin & Co. in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Aladdin & Co.
by Herbert Quick · 1904
A smooth-talking salesman swears any town can be boomed, and he picks Lattimore to prove it.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a young county politician who slips out of a noisy party convention in Chicago and hides in an art gallery. There he watches a red-haired girl copy a painting while a smooth, dark stranger leans close to her.
Aladdin & Co. at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 35 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 79,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1904by Herbert Quick
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A chance meeting in a Chicago art gallery
The story opens at a national party convention in Chicago. Albert Barslow, a twenty-three-year-old delegate, has just become engaged to a girl named Alice, and he has no interest in speeches. He wanders into an art gallery and finds peace among the statues.
Behind a lattice screen he overhears two young people. A girl with auburn hair and freckles is copying a picture. A fashionable young man invites her to a late supper at Auriccio's.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
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
- 1904
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Quick, Herbert. Aladdin & Co.. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/aladdin-co.
Quick, H. (2026). Aladdin & Co.. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aladdin-co (Original work published 1904)
Quick, Herbert. Aladdin & Co.. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aladdin-co.
@book{quick2026aladdin,
author = {Quick, Herbert},
title = {Aladdin \& Co.},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aladdin-co},
note = {First published 1904}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Aladdin & Co.
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Aladdin and Co. about?
It follows Albert Barslow and his friend Jim Elkins as they try to turn the small Western town of Lattimore into a great city by promoting a land boom. A love story among the promoters runs alongside the business plot.
Who is Jim Elkins?
Jim is Albert's boyhood friend, a quick-witted salesman who believes booms follow predictable rules. He becomes the leader of the Lattimore syndicate, president of a railroad, and the rival of Cornish for Josie's affection.
Why is the book called Aladdin and Co.?
Albert often feels he has become partner to a magician, like Aladdin, because Jim seems to summon palaces, railroads and fortunes from nothing. Co. points to the partnership, the company of men who share the venture.
The author
Herbert Quick
1861–1925 · American novelist
Herbert Quick (1861–1925) was an American writer born in Iowa. He worked as a teacher and lawyer and lived in Sioux City, Iowa, where he served as mayor from 1898 to 1900. His novels included Aladdin & Co. (1904), Vandemark’s Folly (1922), and The Hawkeye (1923).
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
