The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists tells the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Frank Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society. Owen's spirited attacks on the greed and dishonesty of the capitalist system rouse his men from their quietism. The book is recognised as one of the most authentic novels of English working class life ever written, a masterpiece of wit and political passion ... although it is Owen's forbearance rather than his radicalism which moves me. His capacity for suffering is almost masochistic, so I depicted him with an emaciated Christ-like aura as he endures the harassment and intimidation of his overseer (left) and employer (right).



With the recent anniversary of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' publication, and a star-studded Radio 4 serialisation, sales of the book surged. In the midst of a dire economic climate, it confounded expectations by reaching number six in the Amazon Movers and Shakers list. Last month the actor Ricky Tomlinson caused a further spike in sales when he commended the book on BBC1's One Show. A former plasterer and a union activist, Tomlinson believes Tressell's message is timely. "Nothing's changed. People are still getting killed in the building industry. There's hardly any safety work, hardly any hygiene conditions. Toilets are as rare as rocking-horse shit." Penguin have re-designed the cover (using a revision of artwork created in 2004) and a reprint will be shipping in a couple of weeks.

Commissioned by Jim Stoddart for Penguin.

How long?

In September 2004 Penguin asked me to produce a cover illustration for Lawless World, a compelling account of how America turned its back on international law. The author - Philippe Sands - threw a spotlight on the abuse of detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Even then, it was old news: the first prisoners, arriving in January 2002, had been confined in exposed cages, sleeping on mats, deprived of sight, hearing and touch. More than five years later, despite repeated calls for its closure, nearly 400 men remain in detention without charge and without trial.

Amnesty International say that Camp Six, a new maximum security prison built at a cost of $37m has created "even harsher and apparently more permanent conditions of extreme isolation" which are "pushing people to the edge". In June 2006 three inmates hanged themselves, and this week a fourth - Abd al-Rahman al-Amiri - commited suicide. Michael Ratner, president of the US Center for Constitutional Rights, told the Associated Press the death was likely an act of desperation. "Five-and-a-half years of desperation with no legal way out."