In the view of one of Wells's biographers, David C. Smith, "Kipps", "The History of Mr Polly" and "Tono-Bungay" together make it possible for Wells "to claim a permanent place in English fiction, close to Dickens because of the extraordinary humanity of some of his characters, but also because of his ability to invoke a "place", a "class", a "social scene". These novels are very personal as well, treating aspects of Wells's own life, matters which would come under attack later, but only after he added his sexual and extramarital views to the personal side of his work."