Books by Robert Tressell

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About this Wordsworth Classic: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic representation of the impoverished and politically powerless underclass of British society in Edwardian England, ruthlessly exploited by the institutionalized corruption of their employers and the civic and religious authorities. Epic in scale, the novel charts the ruinous effects of the laissez-faire mercantilist ethics on the men, women, and children of the working classes, and through its emblematic characters, argues for a socialist politics as the only hope for a civilized and humane life for all. It is a timeless work whose political message is as relevant today as it was in Tressell's time. For this it has long been honoured by the Trade Union movement and thinkers across the political spectrum.This Wordsworth edition includes an exclusive foreword by the late Tony Benn.TheWordsworth Classicsseries offers over two hundred titles at prices all can afford.

Robert Tressell's pre-First World War account of the working lives of a group of housepainters and decorators has become a classic of working-class literature. Howard Brenton's vivid stage adaptation lays bare the many social injustices perpetrated on these men but captures their individual characters with touching truth to life.

Following the fortunes of a group of painters and decorators and their families, and the attempts to arouse their political will by the Socialist visionary Frank Owen, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is both a highly entertaining story and a passionate appeal for a fairer way of life. Intellectually enlightening, deeply moving and gloriously funny (complete with exploding clergyman), The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a book that changes lives.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists tells the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society. Owen's spirited attacks on the greed and dishonesty of the capitalist system rouse his fellow men from their political quietism. A masterpiece of wit and political passion and one of the most authentic novels of English working class life ever written.