Bound to Rise

Up the Ladder

First published in 1873 by A. L. Burt Company, Bound to Rise tells the story of Harry Walton, the son of a farmer who is experiencing rough financial times. Using Benjamin Franklin as a model, Henry sets out to save his family's farm from a dishonorable man's loan of exorbitant interest rate through hard work and thrift.

Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, best known for his many formulaic juvenile 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.