Edwardian Fairy Tale

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 362, 31 May 1946, Page 14

Edwardian Fairy Tale

IPPS, by H. G. Wells, is apparently sub-titled "the story of a simple soul." It is also partly autobiographical,

in about the same degree as David Copperfield, but one hardly supposes that this inspired the sub-title. At all events, Kipps was the subject of one of the BBC’s "Have You Read?" series; and the "simple soul" aspect of things wes much stressed, especially by the method adopted of having Kipps tell his story in the first person, which removed whatever measure of observation and detachment Wells may have put into his work. The broadcast strongly resembled in manner and treatment Michael Redgrave’s film of a few years ago and, like it, caused one moments of unease lest Kipps was being put across as the Common Man, with that unattractive pride certain characters in fiction take in being exactly like everybody else. But, of course, it was not so, in book, film, or broadcast; the author made one of his really telling contributions to human understanding in the unexpected and immortal climax. The amiable but totally null little draper’s assistant, having passed through fairy-tale adventures to a fairy-tale happiness with the display of no talent, quality, or characteristic but a dazed innocence, suddenly comes out of a brown study with the remark (made as it were in his sleep); "I 8’pose there never was a chap quite like me before." The individual is unique, Mr. Kipps, and thank you for reminding us,