Alger adapted the conventions of the moral, sentimental, and adventure literature of the period to fashion the formula he would employ in writing "Ragged Dick" and the dozens of boys' books that followed it. "Alger did not invent his formula out of whole cloth," Alan Trachtenberg wrote, "but boiled down the conventions to make a more refined brew: a style accessible both to young and adult readers; clever dialogue and vivid descriptions; a cast of characters who presented a range of moral positions; a physical setting itself a part of the action."