Robert Tressell was the pseudonym of Robert Noonan, an Irish housepainter, who came to England from South Africa at the turn of the century. After working as a signwriter and becoming involved in local politics in Adelaide, Tressell wrote The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, his only novel. After the manuscript was rejected by several publishers, Tressell decided to move to Canada, yet died of TB en route in 1911. The book was published three years later.