Described as "an outspoken opponent of racism, injustice, greed and corruption, a passionate humanist with a vision of a just society",[1] he was the author of four novels although most acclaimed for the first two: Crown Jewel and Rum and Coca-Cola, both originally published in the 1950s.
A story of his, "Booze and the Goberdaw", appeared in the 1929 Christmas issue of a short-lived publication called Trinidad, edited by Alfred Mendes and C. L. R. James.
De Boissière became part of the group of young writers, including James, who published in Trinidad's first literary magazine The Beacon (March 1931 – November 1933), edited by Albert Gomes.
[2] But in 1947, having lost his job and unable to find another one because of his political activities, he and his family left the country for Chicago, afterwards moving to the Australian city of Melbourne in 1948.
"[5] In 2007, his centenary year, Ralph de Boissière married his longtime companion, Dr. Annie Greet, his fourth novel, Call of the Rainbow, was published in Melbourne, and in November, he received an honorary Doctor of Literature from the University of Trinidad and Tobago.