A highly readable and at times humorous novel, it offers even now a clear analysis of what some would claim is the most important struggle in our history - between those who enjoy privileges and wealth, and those who are oppressed and excluded.
England then was a different country. There was no welfare state to provide a safety net, and poverty and destitution were conspicuously present.
The divide between rich and poor was clear and the housepainters in Tressell's novel accepted this. Their view was that it was "not for the likes of them" to challenge the status quo. They comforted themselves with the thought that their reward would be in some form of afterlife.
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