Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, became an instant success and has never been out of print. Its popularity was such that the number of registered Thames boats went up fifty per cent in the year following its publication, and it contributed significantly to the Thames becoming a tourist attraction. [1]
Jerome Klapka Jerome, born on 2 May 1859, in Staffordshire, England, was a versatile and prolific writer best known for his humorous works, particularly the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat. He was the fourth child of Marguerite Jones and Jerome Clapp (who later renamed himself Jerome Clapp Jerome), an ironmonger and lay preacher who dabbled in architecture.
Jerome had barely four years of formal education. He attended St Marylebone Grammar School but the death of his father when he was 13 and of his mother when he was 15 forced him to leave school and find work to support himself. He began work for the railway, initially collecting coal that fell along the line, and remained there for four years.
Deciding to try his hand at acting joined he a repertory troupe in 1877 under the stage name Harold Crichton. After three years on the road with no apparent success, 21-year-old Jerome decided that he had had enough and sought other occupations. He tried journalism, writing essays, satires, and short stories, but most of these were rejected. He took clerical jobs while he established himself as a writer and even briefly tried teaching, which he hated. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with On the Stage – and Off, a comic memoir of his experiences with the acting troupe, followed by Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886), a collection of humorous essays.
In 1888 he married Georgina Marris (always known as Ettie). Little is known about their marriage or how happy they were.
Widespread acclaim finally came to Jerome with the publication of his most famous work, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) in 1889. The novel, which recounts a boating trip on the Thames River taken by three friends, is a humorous and satirical take on the Victorian society of the time and its success catapulted Jerome into literary fame, establishing him as a leading humourist of the late 19th century.
Throughout his life, Jerome maintained a light and humorous style in his works, making him a beloved figure in English literature. He passed away on 14 June 1927, leaving behind a legacy of comedic literature that continues to be appreciated today.
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