# W. P. Roberts — The Condition of the Working Class in England character guide

> W. P. Roberts in The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Roberts

**First appearance:** 0011-labour-movements

## Snapshot

A labour-movement advocate whose legal and agitational work for workers' rights made him a thorn in the side of the propertied class.

## Who they are

Roberts belongs to the practical wing of the workers' struggle, the kind of figure who turns grievance into cases, petitions, and organized pressure. He is not a theorist but an operator, and his value to the book lies in showing that the English workingman's opposition has capable, determined leadership. His presence marks the shift from the earliest, crudest rebellion of crime toward the more disciplined forms of resistance that Engels tracks through the middle of the narrative.

## In the story

### [The Mining Proletariat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/the-mining-proletariat)

Chartist solicitor appointed as the miners' 'Attorney General,' organizing the strike and legal defense.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/characters/roberts
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/characters