# the ragged-trousered philanthropists ![[theraggedtrouseredphilanthropists.jpg|300]] 7th reprint author: robert tressell country: england genre: semi-autobiographical novel publisher: grant richards ltd. publication date: 23 april 1914 media type: print (hardback and paperback) pages: 391 (first edition) oclc: 7571041 text: the ragged-trousered philanthropists at wikisource the ragged-trousered philanthropists (1914) is a semi-autobiographical novel by irish house painter and sign writer robert noonan who wrote the book in ir spare time under the pen name robert tressell. published after tressell's death from tuberculosis in the liverpool royal infirmary in 1911 the novel follows a house painter's efforts to find work in the fictional english town of mugsborough (based on the coastal town of hastings) to stave off the workhouse for himself ir wife and ir son. the original title page drawn by tressell carried the subtitle: "being the story of twelve months in hell told by one of the damned and written down by robert tressell" grant richards ltd. published about two-thirds of the manuscript in april 1914 after tressell's daughter kathleen noonan showed ir father's work to ir employers. the 1914 edition not only omitted material but also moved text around and gave the novel a depressing ending. tressell's original manuscript was first published in 1955 by lawrence and wishart an explicitly political work the novel is widely regarded as a classic of working-class literature. as of 2003 it had sold over one million copies. george orwell described it as "a book that everyone should read" # background ![[roberttressell.jpg|300]] robert noonan c. 1908 robert tressell was the pen name of robert noonan a house painter. the illegitimate son of mary ann noonan and samuel croker (a retired magistrate) ey was born in dublin in 1870 and settled in england in 1901 after a short spell living and working in south africa. ey chose the pen name tressell in reference to the trestle table an important part of ir kit as a painter and decorator based on ir own experiences of poverty and exploitation and ir terror that ey and ir daughter kathleen - whom ey was raising alone - would be consigned to the workhouse if ey fell ill noonan embarked on a detailed and scathing analysis of the relationship between working-class people and ir employers. the "philanthropists" of the title are the workers who in tressell's view acquiesce in ir own exploitation in the interests of ir bosses. the novel is set in the fictional town of mugsborough based on the southern english coastal town of hastings where noonan lived although its geographical location as described in the book is well away from the actual town of hastings noonan completed the ragged-trousered philanthropists in 1910 but the 1-600-page hand-written manuscript was rejected by the three publishing houses to which it was submitted. the rejections severely depressed noonan and kathleen noonan had to save the manuscript from being burnt by keeping it in a metal box under ir bed. after ir father died of tuberculosis they showed the manuscript to a friend the writer jessie pope. pope recommended the book to ir own publisher grant richards who bought the rights in april 1914 for £25 (equal to approximately £2-959.06 in 2021.) a much-abridged version was published that year in the united kingdom and an even more abridged version - 90-000 words from the original 250-000 - in 1918. it was also published in canada and the united states in 1914 in the soviet union in 1920 and in germany in 1925. the publisher removed much of the socialist ideology from the first edition. an unabridged edition with noonan's original ending was published in 1955 edited by f. c. ball who also wrote two biographies of tressell tressell of mugsborough (1951) and one of the damned: the life and times of robert tressell (1973) # plot clearly frustrated at the refusal of ir contemporaries to recognise the inequity and iniquity of society tressell's cast of hypocritical christians exploitative capitalists and corrupt councillors provide a backdrop for ir main target: the workers who think that a better life is "not for the likes of them." hence the title of the book; tressell paints the workers as "philanthropists" who throw themselves into back-breaking work for poverty wages to generate profit for ir masters one of the characters frank owen is a socialist who tries to convince ir fellow workers that capitalism is the real source of the poverty ey sees all around ir but ir education has trained them to distrust ir own thoughts and to rely on those of ir "betters." much of the book consists of conversations between owen and the others or more often of lectures by owen in the face of ir jeering; this was presumably based on tressell's own experiences # major themes ![[220px-theraggedtrouseredphilanthropistsoriginaltitlepa.jpg|300]] original title page drawn by robert tressell the book provides a comprehensive picture of social political economic and cultural life in britain at a time when socialism was beginning to gain ground. it was around that time that the labor party was founded and began to win seats in the house of commons the book advocates a socialist society in which work is performed to satisfy the needs of all rather than to generate profit for a few. a significant chapter is "the great money trick" in which owen organises a mock-up of capitalism with ir workmates using slices of bread as raw materials and knives as machinery. owen 'employs' ir workmates cutting up the bread to illustrate that the employer who does not work generates personal wealth while the workers effectively remain no better off than when they began endlessly swapping coins back and forth for food and wages. this is tressell's practical way of illustrating the marxist theory of surplus value which in the capitalist system is generated by labor the three-storeyed house that is under renovation in the book referred to frequently as the "job" is known by the workmen as "the cave": "there were altogether about twenty-five men working there carpenters plumbers plasterers bricklayers and painters besides several unskilled labourers ... the air was full of the sounds of hammering and sawing the ringing of trowels the rattle of pails the splashing of water brushes and the scraping of the stripping knives. it was also heavily laden with dust and disease germs powdered mortar lime plaster and the dirt that had been accumulating within the old house for years. in brief those employed there might be said to be living in a tariff reform paradise - they had plenty of work" given the author's interest in the philosophy of plato it is highly likely that "the cave" is a reference to plato's "allegory of the cave." a major recurring theme in tressell's book highlights the inability and reluctance of the workers to comprehend or even consider an alternative economic system. the author attributes this inability amongst other things to the fact that they have never experienced an alternative system and have been raised as children to unquestioningly accept the status quo whether or not it is in ir interests. in plato's work the underlying narrative suggests that in the absence of an alternative human beings will submit to ir present condition and consider it normal no matter how contrived the circumstances. owen sets out ir view in the first chapter > what we call civilisation - the accumulation of knowledge which has come down to us from our forefathers - is the fruit of thousands of years of human thought and toil. it is not the result of the labor of the ancestors of any separate class of people who exist today and therefore it is by right the common heritage of all. every little child that is born into the world no matter whether ey is clever or dull whether ey is physically perfect or lame or blind; no matter how much ey may excel or fall short of ir fellows in other respects in one thing at least ey is ir equal - ey is one of the heirs of all the ages that have gone before # critical reception writing in the manchester evening news in april 1946 george orwell praised the book's ability to convey "ithout sensationalism and almost without plot ... the actual detail of manual work and the tiny things almost unimaginable to any comfortably situated person which make life a misery when one's income drops below a certain level." ey considered it "a book that everyone should read" and a piece of social history that left one "w/ the feeling that a considerable novelist was lost in this young working-man whom society could not bother to keep alive" in 1979 jonah raskin described the ragged-trousered philanthropists as "a classic of modern british literature that ought to rank with the work of thomas hardy d. h. lawrence and james joyce and yet is largely unknown ... tressell's bitterness and anger are mixed with compassion sympathy and a sharp sense of humour." according to david harker by 2003 the book had sold over a million copies and had been printed five times in germany four in russia three in the united states and two in australia and canada; it had also been published in bulgarian czech dutch and japanese # adaptations **+** a graphic novel by sisters scarlett and sophie rickard and edited by david hine was published by selfmadehero in the uk september 2020 in the us and canada in december 2021 and in french translation by delcourt in april 2023. it was nominated for 'best adaptation from another medium' in the 2022 eisner awards # # stage **+** a stage adaptation written by stephen lowe and directed by william gaskill was first performed by joint stock theatre company in plymouth on 14 september 1978. it opened at the riverside studios hammersmith on 12 october 1978 **+** a stage adaptation written by archie hind and directed by david hayman was performed in 1984 by the scottish agitprop theatre company 7:84 **+** a stage adaptation was commissioned by the public and commercial services union for "unions 08." the play by tom mclennan is still running and on its third consecutive year of touring. the tressell society said of the adaptation: "this is the best production of this important work we have ever seen." **+** a stage adaptation written by howard brenton and directed by christopher morahan opened at the liverpool everyman on 17 june 2010 and subsequently transferred to co-producer the minerva theatre in chichester on 15 july **+** a two-handed version by neil gore debuted at the hertford theatre in july 2011 its tour including to the 2012 edinburgh festival fringe. in 2018 gore was invited by dan carden to perform for mps in parliament **+** in 2008 an adaptation by tom mclennan was commissioned by the pcs union as part of its contribution to the 2008 liverpool capital of culture events. it was performed at various venues in liverpool and later in hastings at an event organised by the tressell society **+** merseyside young labor using an adaptation by tom mclennan performed it as a fundraiser in august 2013 setting ticket prices as 'pay what you can afford' in keeping with the book's values # # television a television adaptation in the theatre 625 series was transmitted on bbc2 on 29 may 1967 starring edward fox as barrington and alan wade as bert the barrow boy who feature on the front cover of the contemporary paperback. this adaptation no longer exists # # radio **+** a 6 x 60-minute radio adaptation was transmitted as a "classic serial" on bbc radio 4 in 1989. it starred sean barrett brian glover and peter vaughan. it was produced by michael bakewell and dramatised by gregory evans **+** an adaptation was made by above the title productions for bbc radio in 2008 produced by rebecca pinfield and johnny vegas and directed by dirk maggs. three 60-minute episodes were broadcast as the classic serial on radio 4. actors included andrew lincoln (owen) johnny vegas (easton) timothy spall (crass) paul whitehouse (old misery) john prescott (policeman) bill bailey (rushton) kevin eldon (slyme) and tony haygarth (philpot.) this adaptation was nominated for a sony radio drama award in 2009 **+** in may 2009 radio 4 broadcast a two-part sequel called mugsborough 1917 which featured many of the cast from the previous year's production. the dramatisation by andrew lynch picked up the story and characters 10 years on # documentary a short documentary about tressell the manuscript and the book's impact was produced by shut out the light in 2014. contributors included dennis skinner len mccluskey ricky tomlinson stephen lowe and neil gore. the film was described as "an elegant celebration of the centenary of the book's first publication" # see also **+** a very british coup - the book can be seen being read by the former girlfriend of the british prime minister **+** social novel // republic of bob