Kipps The Story of a Simple Soul

This is not science fiction. It is an analysis of the British class system in the early 20th century. Helpful for those who want to understand how far we have come

Good fun reading. Surprised and delighted by how well "Half a Sixpence" musical was adapted from this story; right down to the banjo. Arthur Kipps is a loveable hero.

The font size is too small. This is cash grab for the publisher and should be ashamed

Wells is a master of local dialect and his prose is perfect beyond measure- the work was very funny and bittersweet as well.

Loved it1

HG Wells, Kipps (1905)The autobiographical strain in this novel, as with the author's The History of Mr Polly and Tono-Bungay, is pronounced; it deals with a small man in a confused and confusing world. Arthur Kipps's progress from his apprenticeship as a linen draper to becoming a `swell' in the upper-middleclass milieu of the Walshinghams is fraught with pain and embarrassment. After being left a fortune by a rich uncle, Kipps finds himself in a position to marry Helen Walshingham. His main problem is that he is uneducated, knowing next to nothing of the world of books or the manners of the society he aspires to join. Helen, together with Kipps's mentor Chester Coote, set about the task of making him a gentleman: correcting his grammar, seeing him appropriately dressed and supervising his reading matter.Wells himself as narrator stage manages the action with many wise and witty asides, ironically watching Kipps's attempts to broaden his mind with wide reading, but mainly for social advancement rather than personal enlightenment. Thus he eagerly follows the advice of his advisor Coote: `I make a rule, One Serious Book and One Novel - no more. There's some of the serious books I've been reading lately - on that table: Sartor Resartus, Mrs Twiddlestone's Pond Life, The Scottish Chiefs, Life and Letters of Dean Farrar.'Although the major theme of the book - the problems of becoming a gentleman - is similar to that of Dickens in Great Expectations, Wells's mode, through his ironical and intrusive narrator, is essentially comic. Kipps's pains and social gaffes are amusing, exposing at the same time the ludicrous nature of the hero and the society he seeks to join. Like Pip, Kipps becomes alienated from his family, his social class and Ann Pornick, his childhood sweetheart (who embarrassingly turns up as a maid at a social gathering) but Kipps never makes the grade and, after losing most of his fortune, he returns to his roots, a happier and wiser man..The story moves at a fair pace (Kipps's legacy drops from the sky early on) and paints a range of types (socialists, nihilists, actors, swindlers of various kinds), but the hero is, rather like the picaro, one who exists simply to have adventures; unlike Pip he barely develops at all, simply being buffeted by one `rum' excursion after another. Like his cockney accent he doesn't change. Indeed, Wells perhaps overdoes the bad grammar and dropped aitches, although Kipps's neighbour Sid Pornick, who shares the accent, is capable of independent thought: `I'm a Socialist, you see,' said Sid, `I don't `old with Wealth. What is Wealth? Labour robbed out of the poor. At most it's only yours in trust. Leastways, that's `ow I should take it.' Here we detect the germ of the Wells to come. But in this story the class struggle and the condition of the poor are minor issues. For sure, Wells is no Arthur Morrison. And he writes a better novel.

When you read a book like this – along with works like “The History of Mr. Polly” or “Love and Mr. Lewisham” – you realize why Wells was such an influential writer and giant of his time.These chronicles of individuals trying to cope with the entrenched injustice and hypocrisy of Victorian and Edwardian England are written in a fresh and funny way that can only be compared with Dickens. At the same time, Wells was writing futuristic books like “The Time Machine”, “The War of the Worlds” and “The First Men on the Moon” as well as more ambitious efforts like “An Outline of History”. What am amazing writer. How I wish we had a contemporary Wells to chronicle our modern times with it absurdities and contradictions.“Kipps” is brilliant, especially the dialogue – often in Kent dialect. It is a familiar Wellsian story of a confused young man from a lower class background who manages to move above his station in life and finds that reaching the summit might give you a magnificent view but can also lead to a disastrous fall if you don't have the ability to stay there.

This is a book about a normal working man that was born into the world as a love child, lived with his aunt and became a draper. He suddenly finds himself in possession of wealth and has to adjust his regular behaviour to become a GENTLEMAN leading to some unusual circumstances. But then he later realizes that it is best to be yourself. It is a classic Rags to riches and Rags to riches again.This is not a serious novel or at least it doesn't take itself seriously.Wells is a witty writer and builds interesting characters or descriptions with few words. I found this book engaging but not perfect. The tale meandered a little and the plot was somewhat casual, hence the 4 stars.But I still enjoyed reading it. It was refreshing.Sergiu Pobereznic (author)

The problem with the book is that Wells maintains the stance of a barely sympathetic observer, never engaging with or rooting for his characters, and since the protagonist is rather abject, and not even clever or particularly charming, you feel increasingly distanced from him as the story proceeds.

Given as a present, so can't comment personally - however, the recipient said that it was good.

Wonderful story, thoughtfully presented. Many lessons we should all do well to remember. Perhaps they’ll make a musical of this.

as described

crap novel, nothing happense. fans of wells sceince fiction, will be highly disappointed,