Guardian review of HG Wells' Kipps, being reissued soon as a Penguin Classic... What, didn't you know HG Wells lived in Sandgate for a while?
Orphaned at an early age, raised by his aunt and uncle, and apprenticed for seven years to a draper, Artie Kipps is stunned to discover upon reading a newspaper advertisement that he is the grandson of a wealthy gentleman and the inheritor of his fortune. Thrown dramatically into the upper classes, he struggles desperately to learn the etiquette and rules of polite society. But as he soon discovers, becoming a true gentleman is neither as easy nor as desirable as it at first appears.
This is part of my website The Folkestone Gerald that I built in a fury of excitement when I first came here in approximately '04. I'd been a frequent visitor for a while before that so I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get nowadays. The site was a lot more dynamic with a gig calendar and voting for favourite venues and stuff, and I hear it was a useful reference for those who were thinking of moving here. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though only to Hythe) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is becoming the exciting place we always thought it was just about to. I am not Gerald by the way, this comes from a fake newspaper in an episode of Brasseye or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local paper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are great aren't they? Do contact me if you have anything to contribute, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.