Mark the Match Boy

Ragged Dick #3

by Horatio Alger Jr.

After leaving the ill-tempered woman with whom he lives, ten-year-old matchboy Mark Manton meets a man who recognizes something of himself in the young orphan and helps him rise above his lowly circumstances.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction

195 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1869

About the author

Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American author, most famous for his novels following the adventures of bootblacks, newsboys, peddlers, buskers, and other impoverished children in their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort. His novels about boys who succeed under the tutelage of older mentors were hugely popular in their day.

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the son of a Unitarian minister, Alger entered Harvard University at the age of sixteen. Following graduation, he briefly worked in education before touring Europe for almost a year. He then entered the Harvard Divinity School, and, in 1864, took a position at a Unitarian church in Brewster, Massachusetts. Two years later, he resigned following allegations he had sexual relations with two teenage boys.[1] He retired from the ministry and moved to New York City where he formed an association with the Newsboys Lodging House and other agencies offering aid to impoverished children. His sympathy for the working boys of the city, coupled with the moral values learned at home, were the basis of his many juvenile rags to riches novels illustrating how down-and-out boys might be able to achieve the American Dream of wealth and success through hard work, courage, determination, and concern for others. This widely held view involves Alger's characters achieving extreme wealth and the subsequent remediation of their "old ghosts." Alger is noted as a significant figure in the history of American cultural and social ideals. He died in 1899.

The first full-length Alger biography was commissioned in 1927 and published in 1928, and along with many others that borrowed from it later proved to be heavily fictionalized parodies perpetuating hoaxes and made up anecdotes that "would resemble the tell-all scandal biographies of the time."[2] Other biographies followed, sometimes citing the 1928 hoax as fact. In the last decades of the twentieth century a few more reliable biographies were published that attempt to correct the errors and fictionalizations of the past.

Reviews

[Caffection Mariah Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alger is the least engaging writer I've ever read, and the most encouraging in several ways: His prose is aimed at about second grade level, which worked for him, so no matter; and his success as a published author is a beacon to every hack who ever lived that they, too, can be in paperback someday.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark, the Match Boy (referring to the fact that Mark at ten years old sells matches on the streets of New York to survive, barely) is one of the continuing series of Horatio Alger about experiences of young boys (only boys so far) in overcoming major challenges to achieve a better way of life (the American dream). The continuing duo of Richard Hunter and Frank Fosdick play a crucial role in finding Mark on the streets of New York so that he can be united with his grandfather from Milwaukee.

Both of the Alger books I have now read were entertaining but not quite complex enough to warrant continuing the series (of which there are about 100 novels, OK novellas).

[Anthony Del Cuadro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll keep this brief since every book has the same type of story line. This includes hardships by the main characters, unlikely alliance, chance coincidences, and morality among even poor. I like how this is the conclusion to the ragged dick character. I really think this is the worst of the trilogy because they focused too much on a character that wasn’t even that interesting and it followed the same plot as the last book for how that character got found out and how the protagonist got through it. I like how ragged dick had a positive and successful life and shows perseverance among even the most unlikely of characters.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Horatio Alger’s “Rags to “Riches” stories. He wrote a ton of them, and nearly all are worth reading. A kid starts out on the streets, selling newspapers or matches, or blacking boots, or maybe he gets a “position” in a store. Then, by hard work and honesty (and a few lucky breaks) he makes his way upward. Not a bad message

[TheQueensBooksII · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good young adult story.

[Lisa Roberts]

Library of Congress "Books That Shaped America"

[Chip Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable, happy-ending Horatio Alger Jr. book written in the late 1890s.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a easy light read and I finished it in a day. Perfect for when you don't want anything to serious. I found it very engaging. It was a little bit of a morality play, good hardworking people winning out over all obstacles, not surprising when you consider when it was written. It was a tad predictable but still pleasant overall. I will consider reading some of the other books in the series. I would suggest it for young readers as an excellent classic for them to start with but enjoyable for older readers looking for something light.

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this more if Alger hadn't ruined most of the story in the title. I get it that these are a bit literal because they were meant for children and for adults with limited literacy, but it was hard to enjoy the book because the plot had been spoilered.

[Rebecca]

I remember enjoying this as a kid. If I ever reread it, I'll rate it and write more about it.

[[ J o ]]

Read the first book in the Ragged Dick series, Ragged Dick. 1 Star; therefore will not be continuing with the series.