Kipps

Kipps – H.G. Wells (Fontana, 1979)

Arthur Kipps, draper’s apprentice, all-round ordinary fellow, and unlikely social climber, stumbles his way through Edwardian England in one of H.G. Wells’ most human and humorous novels. This isn’t about Martians or time machines—it’s about money, class, awkward romance, and how utterly out of his depth a man can be when fortune suddenly lands in his lap.

This 1979 Fontana paperback has that classic retro cover charm, the sort of thing you find in the back of a bus seat pocket or under a pile of Reader’s Digests in a damp caravan. It’s seen a life (creases, probably smells faintly of nostalgia and chip fat), but it’s still perfectly readable—just like Kipps himself, a bit battered but hanging in there.

If you’ve ever wondered what Wells got up to when he wasn’t terrifying the world with invisible men and alien invaders, here’s your answer: poking fun at human vanity with warmth, wit, and a little heartbreak.

Crappy Old Books: bringing you literary classics, slightly foxed, occasionally coffee-stained, but with infinitely more soul than anything shiny and new.

Good condition with uncreased spine.

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