15 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 220 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 220 pagesAbout this book
On crowded city streets, a boy with a box and brushes must find his way among helpers and rogues.
Tom earns his living one shoe shine at a time. Poor but honest, he carries his box through the busy city and calls to passing men. In Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success, Horatio Alger Jr. follows a young worker who hopes to build a better life without giving up his good character.
The streets bring Tom close to kindness and sharp dealing alike. A chance meeting, a favor, or a stranger's interest can change his prospects. But luck is only part of the story. As Tom meets people who do wrong, his struggle to get ahead becomes a question of fairness as well as effort.
What you’ll discover
- A living earned daily Follow Tom through busy streets, where each customer offers another chance to earn his way.
- Helpers beside rogues Meet a city full of people who can lift a young worker up or push him down.
- The weight of chance Discover how an unexpected meeting can matter alongside steady work and courage.
- Character before money Explore Alger's belief that honesty and effort count for more than wealth.
- A question of justice Follow a struggle in which getting ahead also means seeing fairness set right.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like rags-to-riches adventures, quick-witted heroes who outsmart schemers, and tales of friendship and ambition in the busy cities of the Gilded Age.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Tom shares what Jacob hides
- Kindness gives Tom a new ambition
- A hidden paper reveals Tom's identity
- A new appearance cannot prove worth
- Work and courage bring true friends
- Foresight keeps the truth safe
- A friendly welcome may conceal danger
- Small habits build a gentleman
- Honesty matters more than an inheritance
Who’s who
- Tom Grey, later Gilbert GreyA cheerful, honest New York bootblack who learns he is a missing heir and sets out to win back his father's property.
- JacobAn old miser who shares Tom's room, hoards coins and guards a guilty secret about the boy's past.
- James GreyTom's scarred uncle, who keeps the estate that belongs to his nephew and will use any trick to hold it.
- Bessie BentonA lively, outspoken girl from Cincinnati who meets Tom on a train and stands by him against her cousin.
- Maurice WaltonBessie's jealous cousin and fellow clerk, who envies Tom's success and lets his grudge lead him into wrongdoing.
- William FergusonA fair-minded Cincinnati merchant who once worked for Tom's father and gives him work, advice and protection.
- MordauntA rich young man Tom rescues from drowning, who becomes his roommate, teacher and loyal friend.
- Jasper GreyJames Grey's vain, spoiled son, who fears losing his inheritance and helps his father against Tom.
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Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success
by Horatio Alger Jr. · 1878
A New York bootblack inherits a dead man's key and a secret paper that names the cousin who stole his fortune.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
In short
What would you do if the only person who ever called you a gentleman was a stranger you helped across a crowded street? Tom Grey, fifteen, shines boots near New York City Hall and keeps an old man fed on what he earns.
Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 45 min2 h 55 min fast, 4 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 53,200 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1878by Horatio Alger Jr.
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
Tom feeds an old man who isn't kin
Tom starts each day by working before breakfast, then climbing the stairs of a poor tenement to check on Jacob. The old man is weak, cranky and afraid of every expense. Tom earns about a dollar a day with his shoeshine box, and that pays for both of them.
Everyone thinks Jacob is Tom's grandfather, but Jacob has never said so. As soon as Tom leaves, he bolts the door, lifts a floorboard and counts ninety-nine dollars in a tin box. He is a miser who wants exactly one hundred, so he slips out to beg on Broadway for the last seventy-five cents.
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A New York bootblack inherits a dead man's key and a secret paper that names the cousin who stole his fortune.
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Details
- First published
- 1878
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 15 min
- Level
- Easy read
- Paperback
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 354 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 354 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Wed 2 Dec to Tue 8 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Alger, Horatio, Jr. Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/tom-the-bootblack-or-the-road-to-success.
Alger, H., Jr. (2026). Tom, the bootblack; or, the road to success. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tom-the-bootblack-or-the-road-to-success (Original work published 1878)
Alger, Horatio, Jr. Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tom-the-bootblack-or-the-road-to-success.
@book{alger2026tom,
author = {Alger, Horatio, Jr.},
title = {Tom, the Bootblack; Or, the Road to Success},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tom-the-bootblack-or-the-road-to-success},
note = {First published 1878}
}
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What is Tom, the Bootblack about?
It tells of Tom Grey, a fifteen-year-old New York bootblack who learns he is Gilbert Grey, heir to a rich Cincinnati merchant. He travels west, studies, finds allies and confronts the uncle who took his fortune.
Who is James Grey in Tom, the Bootblack?
James Grey is Tom's uncle, the cousin and business partner of Tom's father. He took control of the family fortune by having the boy carried away, and he is recognized by the red scar on his right cheek.
Why does Tom change his name to Gilbert?
Gilbert is the name Tom was born with. After he reads Jacob's confession, he takes it back as a sign of his new life and his claim to his father's name and property.
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).
“Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
More by Horatio Alger Jr.
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