Self-Help: With Illustrations of Conduct and Perseverance

“The poor man with rich spirit is in all ways superior to
the rich man with a poor spirit.”
From promoting thrift while criticizing materialism to asserting the importance of character, morality, hard work and perseverance in achieving success, Samuel Smile’s Self-Help instils in its readers, a desire to succeed.
A precursor of self-help literature, it identifies the capacity for self-improvement, especially in the working class and draws upon the success stories of the inspiring and self-made millionaires.
Self-Help has been called ‘the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism.’ This masterpiece became an instant bestseller and continues to inspire and ignite its readers.