Reviews

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell

lordsuggs's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful informative sad slow-paced

4.0

brtuck's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mazza57's review

4.0

it is amazing that reading this a century on from its own timespan little has changed in the political nature of our country. The characters are also easily identifiable in today's society. The depth of poverty - thankfully is not so extreme and i wonder if our benefit society today appreciates what they do have. There are many questions that i have asked myself whilst reading this - my answers are varied and often not complete. For the main part it is an easy read although it does g on a bit - sort of over egging the pudding. I am firmly of the belief that any book over 600 pages has an excess of repetition in it.

guinness74's review against another edition

2.0

For want of an editor, this book might have been a lot better...and a lot shorter. I subscribe to the Socialist theory of life; I've never made bones about that. Consequently, I enjoy reading works that cater to that theory. This particular tome is one that espouses Socialism in a similar manner to Bellamy's "Looking Backward." However, chapter after chapter is the same story again and again, and the fiction doesn't hold up as well as the cause that it purports to edify. It's a good story, and one I think would do a lot of good if people were to clear their minds and understand how things would work...but maybe leave out 10-20 of the 53 chapters and you'd be better off. Anyway, it's an okay book, but it's just too darn long for what it has to say.

libraryofcalliope's review

5.0

This is my favourite book. I hadn’t reread it in a while and I also appreciated rereading it now that I’m “grown up” and more used to novels written in that time period. The story follows the period of a year and a bit of a town called Musborough (based on Hastings). The town has a poverty problem. The majority can barely afford to pay their rent and bills despite working as much as they are able to. But what are the causes of poverty? Is it laziness? Is it the lack of Plenty of Work? Is it mismanagement? Is it drunkenness? Or is the answer money itself? Tressell uses this set up to discuss and promote the idea of socialism as a solution to poverty. Much like a Socratic dialogue, his character Owen walks through the benefits of socialism in the lunch breaks of his coworkers while the novel’s narrative demonstrates the need for it. However, while you can lead the horse to water but you can’t make him drink. The novel is a really interesting and influential, and I highly recommend everyone read it. It’s timely as ever and while it doesn’t address all inequalities of society, so many of the points are still painfully relevant.

woolfardis's review against another edition

5.0

Read as part of The Infinite Variety Reading Challenge, based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.

Just wonderful. At times sickening, but also heartening and exactly what one needs in this era, for good and bad. Moreso brilliant for what it stands for rather than how it is written or the plot, but even so the plot is worthy in its own right. Full review to follow.





Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Shop | Etsy

simsian's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

lilyschafer's review

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

m_delaney's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death

Minor: Rape

pinkdino88's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The parts that were good were brilliant. Very witty, smart, thought provoking. The satire and use of irony was so well done. It explores an array of characters and I really liked learning about each of them. It broke my heart in a lot of sections and the experience of reading it really felt like a journey. My only fault would be the pacing, some sections I couldn't put it down and others dragged a little. And some of the points felt a little repetitive. However it is certainly a book which I would recommend everyone reading and is still very relevant to society over a 100 years on.  

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide