Strive and Succeed

In Short

Strive and Succeed is a classic nineteenth-century juvenile Bildungsroman following sixteen-year-old Walter Conrad as he travels to Wisconsin under an assumed name to earn his own living as a schoolmaster. While earning the respect of a skeptical town and overcoming unruly students, Walter also works to secure his rightful inheritance from mining stock. Parallel to his journey runs the story of his cousin Joshua, a run-away teenager whose city misadventures provide a stark cautionary contrast. The book endures as an archetype of American self-reliance, moral discipline, and youthful enterprise.

The Story

The narrative opens aboard a Wisconsin train, where sixteen-year-old Walter Conrad travels under the alias Gilbert Howard to seek his fortune. Carrying all his belongings in a single carpetbag, he encounters the arrogant John Wall, son of Portville’s wealthiest citizen, General Wall. Arriving in Portville, Walter meets the frail schoolmaster Allen Barclay, who seeks a replacement due to failing health. Despite his youth, Walter passes an examination administered by General Wall and secures the teaching position.

Walter faces immediate hostility in the classroom. John Wall and a burly student named Peter Groot plot to undermine his authority. Their antics culminate in placing a live hen inside the teacher’s desk. Walter responds with unwavering cool, turning the prank into a humorous lesson that disarms the class. When Peter later attempts a physical confrontation, Walter uses his knowledge of boxing to defeat him in a fair fight. Rather than gloating, Walter offers to teach Peter boxing and tutor him, transforming his former adversary into a loyal friend. Along the way, Walter navigates local social life, lightheartedly writing spoof poetry for an aspiring literary lady, Miss Melinda Jones, to the amusement of his friends.

Simultaneously, the plot follows Walter’s cousin, Joshua Drummond, who flees his strict home in Stapleton after stealing six hundred dollars from his father's till. Joshua arrives in New York, where he meets an opportunistic associate, Sam Crawford. Unaccustomed to city life, Joshua is repeatedly swindled—first buying a useless gilded watch in Central Park, then being maneuvered into paying for lavish theatrical outings. Fearing discovery by a neighbor from home, Joshua flees West to Chicago. There, he falls victim to a bogus employer named Remington, who abandons him after taking his labor. Reduced to severe poverty, Joshua settles for setting up pins in a bowling alley just to avoid starvation.

Walter’s fortunes take a positive turn when he receives news regarding his late father’s mining interests. Taking a four-week vacation from his thriving school, Walter investigates the Great Metropolitan Mining Company and successfully reclaims his rightful inheritance. While traveling, Walter discovers his disgraced cousin Joshua setting pins in the Chicago bowling alley. Moved by compassion, Walter purchases new clothes for Joshua, covers his debts, and takes him back East. Walter convinces the bitter Mr. Drummond to forgive his son and pays for Joshua to attend the Essex Classical Institute for a year. In the conclusion, Walter enters college near the top of his class to prepare for a legal career, using his wealth to support deserving friends like Alfred Clinton, while those who relied on arrogance or speculation, like General Wall, suffer financial ruin.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Sixteen-year-old Walter Conrad travels by train and stagecoach into Wisconsin under the assumed name Gilbert Howard, meeting the haughty John Wall along the way. He takes a room at the Portville House and quickly befriends the ailing local schoolmaster, Allen Barclay.

Securing the desk After passing an interview with General Wall, who values Latin instruction, Walter is appointed as the new master of the Portville school. He manages to win over the board despite his youthful appearance and lack of previous teaching experience.

A lesson in grace Unruly pupils attempt to humiliate Walter on his first days by placing a live hen in his desk, but he defuses the prank with humor and complete composure. Soon after, he bests the neighborhood bully, Peter Groot, in a fair fight and offers to teach him boxing and academics.

City misadventures In a parallel plot, Joshua Drummond steals money from his father and runs away to New York with his manipulative friend Sam Crawford. Joshua is swindled by confidence men, buys a fake gold watch, and eventually flees to Chicago to escape detection.

Fallen on hard times After being duped by a fake employer in Chicago, Joshua exhausts his money and is reduced to working as a pin-setter in a bowling alley to earn daily bread, dreading his family finding out.

Reclamation and redemption Walter successfully recovers his father's stolen mining fortune during a school vacation and discovers his stranded cousin in Chicago. He buys Joshua new clothes, pays for his return East, reconciles him with his father, and funds his schooling before enrolling in college himself.

The People

• Walter Conrad (alias Gilbert Howard): A capable, level-headed sixteen-year-old who wants to earn an honest living and reclaim his late father’s fortune. Challenged by his youth and scheming adversaries, he responds with self-command, intelligence, and physical courage, transforming into a prosperous, college-bound young man who uses his fortune to uplift others.
• Joshua Drummond: Walter’s foolish, impressionable cousin who seeks easy wealth and freedom from his father’s strict control. Hindered by his naivety and poor judgment, he falls into theft and city swindles, ending up humbled and repentant as a bowling alley worker before Walter rescues him.
• General Wall: The wealthy chairman of the local school trustees in Portville who desires high status and quick profits. His misplaced trust in dubious mining ventures and his son's pomposity ultimately lead to his total financial downfall.
• John Wall: The spoiled, class-conscious son of General Wall who wants to humiliate Walter out of jealousy. Prevented from succeeding by his own vanity and lack of grit, he ends up facing a future where he must make his own way without wealth.
• Peter Groot: The local school bully who wants to dominate the classroom through brute strength. After being bested by Walter’s boxing skills and treated with genuine kindness, he abandons his hostility to become a respectable carpenter’s apprentice.

In Its Own Voice

“As Walter’s success as a teacher at the West may seem to some improbable, in view of his youth, I am led to say that I know of more than one case equally remarkable, in particular that of a gentleman since prominent as a politician.”

The author opens the book by addressing doubts about his young protagonist's rapid advancement.

“He began to feel lonely, not for the lack of human faces, for he had met hundreds of persons, but the peculiar loneliness of a stranger in a great city, who, among the multitudes that he meets, recognizes not one familiar face.”

Joshua experiences the bleak isolation of New York after wandering the streets in search of a familiar companion.

“By the coolness and good nature with which he had met the trick attempted to be played upon him, he had disarmed his adversaries, strengthened his hold upon the other pupils, and now remained master of the situation.”

Walter establishes control over his rustic classroom by keeping his temper during an intentional disruption.

What It's Really About

Beneath its swift narrative action, the book presents a clear argument about character, stewardship, and true independence. It contrasts two models of youth: Walter, who possesses emotional self-control, practical intelligence, and integrity, versus Joshua and John Wall, who succumb to vanity, greed, and short-sighted defiance. The story posits that financial prosperity is meaningless without a foundation of moral discipline and intellectual ambition. Wealth acquired through deception or speculation vanishes, whereas self-reliance gained through honest work provides lasting security. Furthermore, the novel explores the responsibility of success, arguing that true triumph lies in using one's earned position and wealth to forgive the fallen, educate the willing, and care for those who cannot help themselves.

Why Read It Today

Strive and Succeed offers a fascinating, unvarnished window into late nineteenth-century American culture, social expectations, and juvenile publishing traditions. Modern readers will enjoy its brisk narrative pacing, crisp dialogue, and genuine historical atmosphere, which ranges from a small Wisconsin schoolhouse to the bustling, predatory streets of Gilded Age New York and Chicago.

The prose is accessible and remarkably direct, though readers should anticipate period-specific moralizing, formal dialogue, and clear-cut moral boundaries typical of Victorian juvenile fiction. The plot moves without fluff, letting concrete actions define every character. What remains with the reader long after finishing is the infectious optimism of its young hero and the satisfying symmetry of its outcome—where quiet resilience and generosity consistently triumph over arrogance and petty deceit. It is an ideal read for literary historians, lovers of classic Americana, or anyone seeking a charming, morally grounded coming-of-age story.