Tressell's novel is about survival on the underside of the Edwardian
Twilight, about exploitative employment when the only safety nets are
charity, workhouse, and grave. Following the fortunes of a group of
painters and decorators and their families, and the attempts to rouse
their political will by the Socialist visionary Frank Owen, the book is
both a highly entertaining story and a passionate appeal for a fairer
way of life. It asks questions that are still being asked today: why do
your wages bear no relation to the value of your work? Why do fat cats
get richer when you don't? Tressell's answers are "The Great Money
Trick" and the "philanthropy" of an unenlightened workforce, who give
away their rights and aspirations to a decent life so freely.
Intellectually enlightening, deeply moving and gloriously funny
(complete with exploding clergyman), The Ragged Trousered
Philanthropists is a book that changes lives.
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