Kipps
Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul is a comic novel by H. G. Wells first published in 1905.[1] The narrative follows Arthur Kipps, an illegitimate orphan raised by his aunt and uncle in modest circumstances and apprenticed to a draper's shop in Folkestone, who unexpectedly inherits a fortune from his grandfather comprising a house and an annual income of twelve hundred pounds.[2][3] This windfall propels Kipps into encounters with higher social strata, where he grapples with the pretensions and constraints of class distinctions, ultimately rejecting an engagement to a woman of superior status in favor of his childhood sweetheart Ann and a life of personal authenticity over ostentatious wealth.[4][5] Through Kipps' bildungsroman journey, Wells examines the moral quandaries of sudden affluence, the rigidity of Edwardian social hierarchies, and the pursuit of genuine fulfillment amid material temptation.[6]Background and Publication
Composition and Autobiographical Elements
Kipps was composed in 1904 and published the following year, marking H.G. Wells's continued transition from scientific romances—such as The War of the Worlds (1898)—to novels examining everyday social dynamics and personal limitations.[7] This period coincided with Wells's brief involvement in the Fabian Society, beginning around 1903, though the work eschews explicit advocacy for systemic change in favor of depicting the consequences of personal choices and social pretensions.[8] The novel draws substantially from Wells's own early experiences as a draper's apprentice in Southsea, Hampshire, from 1881 to 1883, where he was indentured at the Southsea Drapery Emporium under grueling conditions, including 13-hour workdays and dormitory living that stifled intellectual growth.[9] Wells later described this phase as a "dreary and hopeless life," providing the raw material for Kipps's portrayal of monotonous shop drudgery, hierarchical deference, and the stifling effects of lower-middle-class routines on ambition and self-awareness.[9] These elements reflect not abstract ideology but the causal outcomes of limited opportunities and individual inertia, observed firsthand during his "triumphant exodus" from the trade after nearly two years.[9][7] Wells intended Kipps as a satirical examination of lower-middle-class aspirations and follies, prioritizing observational realism over moralizing or reformist preaching, in contrast to some contemporaries' didactic approaches. The narrative traces how inherited wealth disrupts but does not resolve the protagonist's ingrained habits and misjudgments, underscoring chains of cause and effect rooted in human nature rather than institutional overhaul.[7] This focus aligns with Wells's evolving view of literature as a mirror to personal and societal mechanics, informed by his escape from drapery constraints toward broader intellectual pursuits.[9]Initial Publication and Editions
Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul was serialized in The Pall Mall Magazine throughout 1905 before appearing in book form.[10] [1] The first edition in hardcover was published by Macmillan and Company in London toward the end of October 1905, following a U.S. edition from Charles Scribner's Sons earlier that month.[11] Initial sales were modest, with approximately 12,000 copies sold by the end of 1905, though the novel later achieved greater commercial success as one of Wells's popular social comedies.[12] [13] Subsequent editions included numerous reprints by Macmillan and others, with an illustrated version issued by Scribner's in 1924 incorporating new artwork but no substantial textual revisions from the original.[1] Wells made minimal alterations in later printings, preserving the 1905 text without major controversies over variants.[13] The work has remained in print across various formats, reflecting sustained interest in Wells's early realistic novels.[14]Synopsis
Plot Summary
Book I: The Making of KippsArthur Kipps, an orphan born on September 1, 1878, in East Grinstead, is raised by his aunt and uncle in New Romney after his mother's death.[3] He attends Cavendish Academy in Hastings and later apprentices at age 14 to Mr. Shalford's drapery emporium in Folkestone, enduring long hours and menial tasks.[3] During this period, Kipps forms a childhood romance with Ann Pornick, exchanging half a sixpence as a pledge, though the Pornick family relocates.[3] He enrolls in a wood-carving class, where he encounters Helen Walshingham, developing an infatuation.[3] A bicycle accident introduces him to the aspiring playwright Chitterlow, whose conversation reveals an advertisement leading Kipps to discover his inheritance of £26,000 and a house from his grandfather, prompting him to leave his apprenticeship.[3][15] Book II: Mr. Coote, the Chaperon
Kipps attempts social elevation in Folkestone, guided by Mr. Chester Coote, who advises on gentlemanly conduct, literature such as Sesame and Lilies, and avoidance of vices like betting.[3] He renews acquaintance with Helen Walshingham and her family, leading to an engagement within two months.[3][15] During this time, Kipps travels to London, stays at the Royal Grand Hotel, and navigates social events including an anagram tea party.[3] He reconnects with Ann, now working as a servant, and, prioritizing their bond, ends the engagement with Helen to elope with Ann.[3][15] Book III: The Kippses
Married to Ann, Kipps faces difficulties selecting a suitable residence, eventually settling in Hythe without a basement.[3][15] His fortune suffers losses through investments managed by Young Walshingham, Helen's brother, via speculation.[15] Kipps establishes a bookshop branch of the Associated Booksellers’ Trading Union in Hythe alongside Sid Pornick, and the couple has a son.[15] An investment of £2,000 in Chitterlow's play proves successful, replenishing their funds.[15] Book IV: Kipps Concludes
Kipps and Ann embrace a modest domestic existence in their coastal town, hosting events such as a water party on the Hythe canal and a picnic at Lympne involving the Walshinghams.[3] Kipps maintains the bookshop operation with Sid, securing ongoing contentment with annual income from the remaining inheritance.[3][15] The narrative concludes circa 1905, reflecting the period's social dynamics without further upheaval.[3]
Characters
Principal Figures
Arthur Kipps, the novel's central figure, begins as an orphaned apprentice in a drapery shop, bound to a seven-year term of service under harsh conditions that limit his formal education and worldly experience.[16] His inheritance of £26,719 18s. 9d. from an estranged grandfather abruptly alters his circumstances, prompting actions such as abandoning his trade, pursuing self-improvement through classes in elocution and arts, and investing in speculative ventures influenced by acquaintances like the dramatist Chitterlow.[1] These choices, driven by inexperience rather than calculated foresight, lead to tangible failures including depleted funds from poor financial decisions and social isolation from mismatched engagements, underscoring how his foundational lack of agency and acumen causally precludes sustained adaptation to affluent norms.[2][16] Ann Pornick, Kipps's early playmate and later partner, maintains a trajectory of domestic service and simple living, reflecting behaviors shaped by economic necessity and unadorned rural upbringing in New Romney.[5] Her interactions with Kipps post-inheritance prioritize mutual comfort over status elevation, as seen in their clandestine meetings and shared rejection of opulent pretensions, which empirically anchor Kipps amid his wealth-induced confusions and facilitate a return to modest enterprises like shopkeeping.[2] This grounded disposition causally contrasts with aspirational influences, preserving relational stability through avoidance of class-disruptive ambitions.[16] Helen Walshingham, encountered by Kipps during adult education classes, exemplifies elite detachment through her role as a woodcarving instructor from a genteel family facing genteel decline.[5] Following Kipps's financial gain, she shifts to active courtship, directing his wardrobe, speech, and leisure toward cultured pursuits like theater and cycling clubs, yet these impositions reveal practical incompatibilities, such as her aversion to everyday domesticity and reliance on inherited mannerisms over adaptive skills.[17] The ensuing engagement unravels via Kipps's observable discomfort in her social sphere and her family's opportunistic maneuvers, causally demonstrating how entrenched class-specific behaviors hinder cross-strata viability.[16][2]