Horatio Alger, Jr. was the son of a Unitarian minister, but did not follow his father's wishes for him to join the clergy. Instead, he attended Harvard with the intent of becoming a poet, and later went on to become a teacher. After being rejected by the Union army during the Civil War, he changed his mind and became a minister. He wrote many poems and dime novels during his lifetime, many of which seem autobiographical both in their themes of pursuing the American dream, and in their talk of "deadly sins" - the truth of which was glossed over by the church at the time.

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Available books:

• Ben's Nugget: A Boy's Search for Fortune

• Grand'ther Baldwin's Thanksgiving with Other Ballads and Poems