Paul Hoffman is a fourteen-year-old young man who sells "prize packages." An elementary gambling game, he sells envelopes that have either candy or money in them; although the odds are poor, the price to play is cheap, and he performs well. Paul is a second generation American, whose late father was a skillful cabinet-maker. Paul has pride in his personal appearance, and chooses not to be a bootblack. As for the selling of newspapers, he did not care for the competition. He lives with his mother, who sews shirts to contribute towards their apartment, and his nine-year-old brother, who is lame but possesses an exceptional artistic ability. Paul is robbed of his earnings and encounters a number of setbacks to success. Of particular interest are Alger's description of life on the streets of late 19-century New York City. This edition of the book contains 10 illustrations that are unique to this edition of the book.