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'The present system means joyless drudgery, semi-starvation, rags and premature death; and they vote for it and uphold it. Let them have what they vote for! Let them drudge and let them starve!'There is no other novel quite like The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. George Orwell called it 'a wonderful book'; its readers have become a living part of its remarkable history.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 willby 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.… (more)
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The books final two sentences imagine a socialist utopia:
“The light that will shine upon the world wide Fatherland and illumine the gilded domes and glittering pinnacles of the beautiful cities of the future, where men shall dwell together in true brotherhood and goodwill and joy. The Golden Light that will be diffused throughout all the happy world from the rays of the risen sun of socialism”
But they deny all that has gone before and are really only the delirious dream of Owen the consumptive, socialist working class hero of the novel.
The novel which doubles as a socialist tract follows the working lives of a band of painters and decorators. They are driven and “sweated” to complete jobs in a cut throat competitive environment. Tressell himself was a sign writer and uses his experiences to give a first hand, blow by blow account of their working conditions; he tells of their struggle to clothe and feed themselves and of their desperately poor home life. The story of their continuous struggle to survive is interlaced with the Socialist teaching that could transform their lives. The original teacher is Owen who whenever he can; lectures his workmates on how a socialist system would be to the benefit of all. The reader follows Owen’s explanation of how the Capitalist money trick works, how it robs the workers of the fruits of their labours. Their are diagrams painted on walls, their are impromptu question and answer sessions, but through it all Owen struggles to make any headway, let alone make any converts. Later it is a socialist battle van visiting the town that provides a platform for the socialists and finally George Barrington (an independent man of means) makes an impassioned plea for Socialist change: in effect delivering a socialist manifesto.
The Socialist message is repeated and enhanced throughout the book, but it continually fails to impress the townspeople of Mugsborough. The working men continue to vociferously support the system which serves to enslave them:
“They often said that such things as leisure, culture, pleasure and the benefits of civilisation were never intended for ‘the likes of us’
They refuse to believe that changing the system would benefit anybody and perhaps after all they are right, because Tressells message that men/women do not deserve socialism and will not be ready for it for another 500 years; comes through loud and clear. Tressells book has been taught in schools and universities and was required reading for any would be socialist member of the British parliament, but those days are gone. After the recent Conservative success in the British Election this year, it would appear that either the working class has disappeared completely from the majority of the South and Midlands, or that they still believe that the knobs (rich and powerful) have a divine right to run the country.
Sir Graball d’Encloseland, Mayor Sweater, Councillors Rushton, Didlum and Grinder, along with Mrs Starvem, and Lady Slumrent ably supported by Rev Bosher run the Town of Mugsborough for all that it is worth and in effect take the book into the realms of a fable (although a very long one). In my opinion there is no doubt that the book could do with some serious editing, but as an example of a Socialist novel with a political message then it is in a class of it’s own. I can’t say I really enjoyed the book, but I liked what it said and so 4 stars.
The central character of the book is a housepainter named Owen who tries to rouse his workmates from their political apathy to embrace Socialism as the solution to their
Even if you don’t agree with the Socialist theory espoused in the book you are quickly drawn in by Tressell’s superb characterization and acute ear for dialogue. Anyone who has ever worked will recognize the characters and situations which are depicted so masterfully. Before I read the book I would never have thought that my working life would have anything in common with that of an Edwardian tradesman but the situations Tressell depicts are universal.
An excellent book which I couldn’t recommend highly enough.
The book begins with a group of workers who are working on the renovation of a house called The Cave under the auspices of their cut-throat employer Rushton’s (although as the book unfolds we find that Mr Rushton and his colleagues are relatively ‘good’ employers compared with others in the town of Mugsborough where the novel is set). Rushton’s underling is the appropriately-named Hunter (and as you read on you will find many an ironic or fun-poking name for his characters) who coerces and spies on his workers in the hope of catching them out doing something they shouldn’t so he can dismiss them and replace them with cheaper labour. And there’s always an army of half-starved ill-clad men hanging about desperate for work and willing to be paid less than the going rate than the ‘old hands’. This inevitably results in a working atmosphere of resentment, fear, suspicion and backstabbing among the men who are overseen by the foreman Crass. Crass is in many ways in an enviable position, though he has to do a lot of cozying up to the bosses. In turn, the workers themselves try to get into his good books to prevent themselves from being considered for dismissal.
Rushton, Hunter and many of the other town’s big employers are also influential in the business and religious affairs of the town.
When self-educated Frank Owen, tries to explain the causes of poverty to his fellow workers, he is mocked and ridiculed by most of them. They are resistant to change and opt for the status quo because they don’t believe in an alternative, in spite of their lot being a miserable one: their families half-starving and dressed in rags and dilapidated boots. However, Owen’s arguments – as well as those of one of his fellow workers, Barrington - are persuasive and the men cannot put together a cohesive argument against those of Owen.
All in all, Tressell portrays a rich portrayal of brutal working life and poverty as it was at the time and many of the tragedies that resulted. But there is also plenty of humour in the interplay of characters who are as alive and relevant today as they were then.
I would never consider myself a
My main criticism of the book is its repetitiveness (how many times do we need to hear how a decorating job was bodged, paint 'slobbered' on the wall etc etc?) and lax editing. This said, the author surprised me right at the end with a scene so touching and yet delivered with such incredible simplicity that the tears were fairly rolling down my cheeks.
I'm still in favour of the free market, but I'm very glad to have read this book.
I did find the names Tressell gave to the employers amusing: Mr. Oyley Sweater (as in one who sweats the work out of his employees); Mr. Grinder; Mrs Starvem; the painting firm of Dauber and Botchit; Snatchum the undertaker; and on the town council Dr. Weakling as the only one interested in helping others! Not to mention the workers' manager Hunter, variously called Nimrod or Misery.
While I believe that conditions for blue collar workers in the United States & England have improved, I found this idea that the workers firmly held to conditions that were ultimately responsible for their misery depressing because it seems so similar to the way lower economic classes in the U.S. responded to Donald Trump.
I also listened to the LibriVox recording; Tadhg's narration was wonderful -- this free public domain audiobook was of better quality than some commercial audiobooks!
Tressell is especially fond of attacking the profit motive. This is absurd: who in this world engages in work with the intention of making a loss?
Doubtless, this book provides a strong foundation for anyone who is thinking of joining the SWP, or any other socialist organization. It gave a stark contrast of the wealth disparity in England, highlighted the irony of the poorest of the poor slaving away to build gilded mansions for the Earls, Lords and other landed gentry of England. Another contrast which is not easily missed is showing the worst case scenario of capitalism, and providing the best case scenario of socialism. The way it was described in this book made a Socialist republic sound positively utopian! However, I do know that every system is flawed, no matter how well-intentioned their perpetrators are. I was not converted to Socialism by this book, but I am more convinced than before that there is something deeply wrong with the way our world is being run today.
As a novel, I found it extremely repetitive, and I might pass out from annoyance if I ever hear the phrase 'bare necessities of life' again. However, after some light research I discovered that the author was writing from real-life experiences, and so the reiteration came from a place of utter and real frustration with the status quo. Still, I thought that this particular idea could have been more articulate.
My favorite thing about this book was the theme of education. I completely felt for the writer when I could see the protagonists desperation about how the education of the poorer classes was slowly being driven out of them until they were reduced to semi-literate 'animals', as is described in the book. The fact that people use religion to push the agenda of a select few does make me feel incredibly sad and outraged, because religion is meant to be beautiful and common to everyone. C'est la vie, though!
The characters were lively, despite their wretched poverty, and I enjoyed trying to decipher their incredibly thick accents, which I don't think I could place to any section of England even if I heard it outright. I also loved the silly and meaningful names assigned to each character, particularly the names of the building firms!
Robert Tressell was the pen-name of Robert Noonan. Fittingly the name was taken from the decorator's 'tressell' for Noonan was himself a decorator and signwriter. The central characters in his novel are a set of impoverished painters and decorators whose work and lives are examined in relation to each other, their struggling families and their grasping employers. The book is overtly political and occasionally doctrinaire - setting the principles of socialism (as a theoretical ideal) against the unjust realities of capitalism - but it also has a strong narrative and characterisation played out in credible if oppressive situations. There is humour too, which serves to season the prevailing mood of near-despair.
Tressell's only work may lack the subtlety of, say, George Orwell, but it greatly influenced Orwell and other political writers when they were finally able to read it. It is a pity that Robert Noonan died without knowing his ambition to be published would eventually be realised and unaware of how seminal his book, written in angry sincerity, would become. Even if he knew this, however, he would doubtless remain disappointed that socialism as he understood it has never genuinely been tried while, after flirting with mixed economies, most western nations have reverted to a capitalist system as virulent as the one he knew. Plus ça change.
Working class life in the 19th century, poverty , class conflict and all.
Worthy but dull
I was surprised to see no mention of the Labour party. This book was written around 1910, and the labour party would have stood for at least two elections by then and won a handful of seats each time. But you only hear about the tories and the liberals.
It's still an interesting book though, being one of the key texts on the development of British left-wing politics. And some of the concepts and thoughts are quite insightful. But it was a bit of a slog to get through. It's a shame, because with better writing, a tighter story, and less politicising, this could have been the British equivalent of The Grapes of Wrath.
Much more interesting than that though
There is very little drama, very little action that takes place in the book. What you have, is a series of little incidents and observations of the daily life of the English worker, and his masters in the early 1900's. The observations are minute
It is also an early treatise on socialism, and the talks on socialism are pioneered by the main character - Owens, as well as another character - Barrington.
The characters of the owners, the 'rulers' and leaders of the town have been painted mercilessly, and what is amazing, is that you can picture these characters in many countries today.
There is a biting sarcasm throughout the book, and it is a social commentary of the times.
It is an extremely good, many-layered book, and is not a book that you should rush through.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like to understand British society 100 years back and draw parallels in many societies today.
I also recommend this book to anyone who likes to read a book that is multi-layered and complex.