Robert Tressall 
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists 

This is the story of a group of working-class men whose ranks one day are joined by Owen, a modern-day prophet who brings with him a vision of an ideal society. Owen’s vehement assaults on the greed and mendacity of the corrupt system of capitalism galvanize his compatriots into relinquishing their political disinterest. ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ is both a masterful work of wit and political vehemence, and is hailed as one of the most authentic portrayals of English working class life that has ever been written. Robert Tressell (1870 – 1911) was an Irish author most remembered for writing this book. Many antiquarian books such as this are increasingly hard-to-come-by and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.