The Fictional Republic Horatio Alger and American Political Discourse [Hardcover]

Investigating the persistence and place of the formulas of Horatio Alger in American politics,The Fictional Republicreassesses the Alger story in its Gilded Age context. Carol Nackenoff argues that Alger was a keen observer of the dislocations and economic pitfalls of the rapidly industrializing nation, and devised a set of symbols that addressed anxieties about power and identity. As classes were increasingly divided by wealth, life chances, residence space, and culture, Alger maintained that Americans could still belong to one estate. The story of the youth who faces threats to his virtue, power, independence, and identity stands as an allegory of the American Republic. Nackenoff examines how the Alger formula continued to shape political discourse in Reagan's America and beyond.

A wonderful book, written with flair and imagination.The Fictional Republictells the story of Horatio Alger, the gilded age, and the contest to define America. In explaining why the Horatio Alger myth persists, Carol Nackenoff offers a powerful new reading of American political culture--as it was at the start of the century, as it is today. --James A. Morone, Brown University and author ofThe Democratic Wish

Firmly grounded on the bedrock of biographical detail,The Fictional Republicperceptively analyzes the politics of Alger's novels. To my great delight, Carol Nackenoff goes far in retrieving a historical Alger whose writings have been appropriated in this century by success cultists and political consultants of every stripe. --Gary Scharnhorst, University of New Mexico

Nackenoff's innovative exploration of the connections between politics and popular literature identifies the many ways in which Horatio Alger reflected and reinforced the political culture of his time. --Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University

This is a splendid book in every way: it is well-conceived, superbly executed, andvery wellwrittelÓ9