Brave and Bold

In Brave and Bold, published in 1874, Alger relates the trials and tribulations of our hero, Robert Rushton, a poor, but honest, forthright and resolute young man. His father has, apparently, drowned at sea and, unbeknownst to Robert or his mother, has deposited a fortune—$5,000—with a ne'er-do-well factory superintendent, and father of a snobbish son—a thorn in Robert's side, who causes Robert to be fired from his factory job.

The troubles escalate for poor Robert until an act of almost unb...