X-Nico

A Shabby Genteel Story

Unfortunately, he is not wealthy enough to support his tastes and is in Margate because he can hide from his Creditors there: "He was free of his money; would spend his last guinea for a sensual gratification; would borrow from his neediest friend; had no kind of conscience or remorse left, but believed himself to be a good-natured, devil-may-care fellow; had a good deal of wit, and indisputably good manners, and pleasing, dashing frankness in conversation with men."

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Self-delusion and snobbery are the major themes, along with society's underlying obsession with money: the threat to female innocence posed by unprincipled young men is also present.

see also