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Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists | Robert Tressell
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. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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BarbaraBB
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A group of workmen work each day in a house that is under renovation. They are continuously fearing to lose their job, which is quite possible. The story highlights the inability and reluctance of the workers to comprehend, or even consider, an alternative economic system. The workmen accept the status quo unquestioningly, regardless their own interests. They work #EightDaysAWeek until the socialist Owen starts working among the men.
#HeyJune

Cinfhen @Libby1 JUST mentioned this book yesterday and I had never heard of it and today you post it!!! #BookKarma 😉 6y
batsy This sounds great! 6y
Libby1 @Cinfhen and @batsy - amazing! I have this one, @BarbaraBB , and must get to it soon. 6y
BarbaraBB @batsy @Libby1 This really is a great book. A chunkster but very readable and the subject is so good! 6y
77 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
BarbaraBB
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Pickpick

The story is about a bunch of workmen who are working under inhuman circumstances. They have to work very hard and soon as the job stops, starvation threatens them and their families.
One of the workmen is a socialist and tries to convince the others of the inequalities between them and the capitalist bosses. Change comes slowly and in the mean time poverty strikes. #1001books

3 likes1 stack add
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Libby1
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My son's Star Wars Rogue One magazine got a little crumpled. Apparently War and Peace and The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists do the trick for sorting it out.

#RaisingReaders

LeahBergen 😂 8y
Libby1 He loves that copy of War and Peace, @LeahBergen ! 8y
47 likes2 comments
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EmilyR
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"Therefore what remains in the possession of their masters represents the difference between the value of the work done and the wages paid for doing it."

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EmilyR
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I really think everyone should read this book. It blends a compelling story with social and economic critique in a language that everyone can understand. I only wish Tressell had lived long enough to finish editing and see it published.