Top 100 books challenge: 72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

I had quite mixed feelings about this book. There are two main aspects to it. The first is the  interesting story, about the lives of working class men during the early 1900’s. The men are  painters and decoraters, and are in an increasingly desperate situation regarding lack of money and work. Work is scarce and competition fierce, and many are often out of employment for months at a time.

The other part of the book is the big political influence, which is prominent throughout. The characters are portrayed as  hypocritical Christians, and workers who think that a better life is not for people like them. They throw themselves into back-breaking work for poverty wages in order to generate profit for their masters, and believe that there is nothing better for them out there. Their only purpose in life is to be allowed to work, and keep their family from starving, and they believe that what is good enough for them will be good enough for their children when they grow up.

The characters in the book fall on two sides, socialists and libralists. The hero of the book is Frank Owen, a socialist who believes that the capitalist system is the real source of the poverty he sees all around him. He tries to educate his friends and make them see his views, and often gives long, preaching speeches to them. However many jeer him, and refuse to listen. They believe that they are not worthy of better things, and distrust their own views, preferring to rely on those who are their ‘betters’.

I enjoyed finding out more about the lives of the men and their families. It was quite hard reading about their struggles to put food on the table as, although this is a fictional book, it is based on true events and situations. Sometimes the political part took over too much, with pages and pages of socialist/libralists arguments. This was too much, and for me spoilt the book as I found myself drifting off. It was good to know the background, but the book went into to much detail, which succeeded in boring me.

Rating 4/10