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The search seeks the exact word or phrase that you type, so if you donât find your choice, try searching for a keyword in your topic or recheck the spelling of a word or name. Tressell, Robert Tressell, Robert (1870-1911), pseudonym of Robert Noonan, the Irish-born socialist, industrial painter, sign writer, and author of the novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (1914). Tressell wrote the book to document the condition of the working classes at the beginning of the 20th century and to advocate socialism, which he believed to be âthe only real remedyâ for their plight. It is set in the fictional town of Mugsborough, on the south coast of England, and tells the story of a downtrodden group of housepainters as seen through the eyes of their co-worker Frank Owen, who dreams of a fairer society. The âphilanthropistsâ of the title are the workers themselves who, to Owenâs frustration, ânot only quietly submitted like so many cattle to their miserable slavery for the benefit of others, but defended it and opposed and ridiculed any suggestion of reformâ. Tressell was born in Dublin on April 18, 1870, the illegitimate son of Samuel Croker, a retired magistrate and senior policeman, and Mary Ann Noonan. Having left home at 16, he began to earn his own living, and in 1888 emigrated to South Africa, where he settled in Cape Town. He married Elizabeth Hartel in 1891, but the couple divorced in 1897 and Tressell won custody of their only child, Kathleen. While living in Johannesburg, he prospered in the decorating trade and became the Secretary of the Transvaal Federated Building Trades Council. | |
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