# Chester Coote — Kipps character guide

> Chester Coote in Kipps by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Chester Coote, Mr. Coote, Coote, Chester, the exemplary Coote

**First appearance:** 0005-iii-the-woodcarving-class

## Snapshot

A self-appointed apostle of culture whose study is a compendium of the contemporary British mind, Coote tutors Kipps in etiquette, serious reading, and the fear of seeming common.

## Who they are

Coote presides over a bedroom of autotypes, phrenological busts, and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, dispensing rules about One Serious Book and One Novel and the virtue of Travel and Books. His mentorship is genuine and absurd in equal measure, since his own taste runs to Mrs. Twaddletome and the Hundred Best Books, and his approval comes with a quiet snobbery Kipps can feel but not name. He matters because he is the gatekeeper of the society Kipps is trying to enter, and his lessons shape both Kipps's manners and his mounting self-doubt.

## Relationships

### [Arthur Kipps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/arthur_kipps)

_social_

Chester Coote acts as Arthur's social mentor, attempting to polish his manners and integrate him into upper-class society, often with condescension.

### [Helen Walshingham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/helen_walshingham)

_social_

Chester Coote and Helen move in the same upper-class social circles, sharing a superficial acquaintance based on class and manners.

### [Arthur Kipps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/arthur_kipps)

_social_

Chester Coote acts as Arthur's social mentor, attempting to polish his manners and integrate him into upper-class society, often with condescension.

### [Arthur Kipps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/arthur_kipps)

_social_

Chester Coote acts as Arthur's social mentor, attempting to polish his manners and integrate him into upper-class society, often with condescension.

### [Helen Walshingham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/helen_walshingham)

_social_

Chester Coote and Helen move in the same upper-class social circles, sharing a superficial acquaintance based on class and manners.

### [Helen Walshingham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/helen_walshingham)

_social_

Chester Coote and Helen move in the same upper-class social circles, sharing a superficial acquaintance based on class and manners.

## In the story

### [III: The Woodcarving Class](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/iii-the-woodcarving-class)

Visits the woodcarving class on committee business; later gives a paper on 'Self-Help' at the Young Men's Association.

### [Book II: Mr. Coote, the Chaperon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/book-ii-mr-coote-the-chaperon)

Coote acts as Kipps' chaperon and guide to proper social behavior, embodying the snobbery and pretension of the upper class.

### [The New Conditions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/i-the-new-conditions)

Coote offers to guide Kipps in social and moral matters, becoming his friend and mentor.

### [The Walshinghams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/ii-the-walshinghams)

Hosts Kipps at his home, discusses reading and the Rules of Life, and lends him books.

### [Engaged](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/iii-engaged)

Advises Kipps on etiquette and reassures him about the Walshinghams' modern views.

### [V: The Pupil Lover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/v-the-pupil-lover)

Coote advises Kipps on how to distance himself from his old friends, embodying the snobbery of the aspiring gentleman class.

### [Discords](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/vi-discords)

Explains the nature of anagrams and the Anagram Tea to Kipps.

### [London](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/vii-london)

Mentioned as the chaperon of the world of culture and refinement Kipps is entering.

### [VIII: Kipps Enters Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/viii-kipps-enters-society)

Absent from the Anagram Tea but appears later in the chapter to encourage Kipps before a dinner.

### [IX: The Labyrinthodon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/ix-the-labyrinthodon)

Compared to the Labyrinthodon statue by Kipps.

### [I: The Housing Problem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/i-the-housing-problem)

Referenced indirectly as a symbol of the pretentious social conventions that the Kippses confront.

### [II: The Callers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/chapters/ii-the-callers)

Mentioned as having cut Kipps; his frozen visage haunts Kipps's remorse; associated with the oppressive social ideals that torment Kipps.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters/chester_coote
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/kipps_se/characters