The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists: Robert Tressell

Robert Tressell`s spirited attack on selfish capitalism is a masterpiece of wit and political passion and one of the most authentic novels of English working class life ever written.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists tells the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Frank Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society. Indicting the `philanthropy` of the working class, who toil solely for the benefit of their masters, and initiating them into the secrets of the `Great Money Trick` which alienates them from their labour, Owen`s attacks on the greed and dishonesty of the capitalist system rouse his fellow men from their political quietism.