Horatio Alger

Helen Ford Horatio Alger

Helen Ford is one of only two novels by Horatio Alger, Jr. with a female heroine. Originally aimed at the adult market, Helen Ford found little commercial success. Helen has the responsibility of caring for her father, a typical Alger misfit, this one, widowed and estranged from his wealthy father, trying to invent a flying machine. Horatio Alger (1832 - 1899) was one of the most influential American authors of the 19th century, who wrote Helen Ford. A prolific author, he wrote more than a hundred books on the same theme: that honesty, cheerfulness, virtue, thrift, and hard work would be rewarded with success. While his plots and dialogue sometimes lacked creativity, he can be credited with helping to create an uniquely American philosophy of Strive and Succeed. Titles such as Sink or Swim, Shifting for Himself, and Helen Ford convinced generations that they could triumph over their circumstances and become an Alger Hero.