Sign-In
Cart
Seek and Find; or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy
Paperback
Publisher: Bibliotech Press
Published: Oct 28 2025
Pages: 136
Weight: 0.38
Height: 0.34 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The story follows Lawrence Lawry Wilford, a clever, responsible, and resourceful young boy who lives near Lake Champlain. When his father dies, Lawry takes on the responsibility of supporting his mother and younger siblings. Despite being poor, Lawry shows remarkable integrity and ambition.
He works as a pilot and boatman, navigating the lake and performing odd jobs. One day, Lawry has the opportunity to help recover a sunken steamboat, the Loon, from the lake. With hard work and smart decision-making, he raises the boat and refurbishes it, turning it into a profitable venture.
Throughout the story, Lawry encounters challenges from dishonest people, including his older brother Ben, who tries to sabotage his efforts. However, Lawry's honesty, intelligence, and determination help him overcome these obstacles.
The novel celebrates values like hard work, moral uprightness, and perseverance, making it a classic of didactic children's literature.
About the Author
William Taylor Adams (July 30, 1822 - March 27, 1897), pseudonym Oliver Optic, was an academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Adams first began to write at the age of 28, and his first book, Hatchie, the Guardian Slave (1853), was published under the pseudonym of Warren T. Ashton. It was only a modest success, but Adams was undaunted. In 1854 Adams produced his first real hit, the initial volume in the Boat Club series. Adams continued to write until he died in Dorchester, March 27, 1897. Among his best-known works were the two Blue & Gray series, which were set during the Civil War.
Adams wrote well over 100 books in total, most of them for a boy audience, and the majority of these in series of four to six volumes published under a pseudonym. Two novels published in his own name, The Way of the World and Living Too Fast, were aimed at adult readers but fell flat. Though Oliver Optic was the pseudonym he used most, his work also appeared under the bylines Irving Brown, Clingham Hunter, M.D., and Old Stager. Like many children's authors of his day, he was additionally an editor, and many of his works first appeared in Oliver Optic's Magazine.
Adams' writing was criticized by Louisa May Alcott, among others. Alcott used her story Eight Cousins to deplore Adams' use of slang, his cast of bootblacks and newsboys, and his stories of police courts and saloons. Adams responded in kind, pointing out Alcott's own use of slang and improbable plot twists. (wikipedia.org)
4 different editions
Also available
Also from
Optic, Oliver
Fighting Joe Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. A Story of the Great Rebellion
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Up the Baltic- or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark: A story of travel and adventure
Hearst, William Randolph
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
The Yankee Middy; or, the Adventures of a Naval Officer: A Story of the Great Rebellion
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Shamrock and thistle: Young America in Ireland and Scotland: A story of travel and adventure
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Fighting Joe: The fortunes of a staff officer: A story of the great rebellion
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Red Cross; or, Young America in England and Wales: A Story of Travel and Adventure
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Palace and Cottage; or, Young America in France and Switzerland: A Story of Travel and Adventure
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Now or Never: The Adventures of Bobby Bright - A Story for Young Folks
Lee and, Shepard
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Vine And Olive Oil: Young America in Spain and Portugal - A Story of Travel and Adventure
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
In School and Out: Or, The conquest of Richard Grant. A story for young people.
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Try Again; Or, the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. A Story for Young Folks
Optic, Oliver
Paperback
Vine and Olive; Or, Young America in Spain and Portugal
Optic, Oliver
Reinhart, Charles Stanley
Paperback
Vine and Olive; Or, Young America in Spain and Portugal
Optic, Oliver
Reinhart, Charles Stanley
Hardcover
Also in
Classic Fiction
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales Vol. 1 (Loa #26): The Pioneers / The Last of the Mohicans / The Prairie
Cooper, James Fenimore
Hardcover
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories
Baughman, Judith
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Bruccoli, Matthew J.
Paperback
The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Paperback
The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paperback
The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by the Author: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Hardcover
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Hardcover
The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Revised and easy-to-read)
Vermilye, Alan
Bunyan, John
Paperback
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Paperback