Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and

humourist A humorist ( American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...

, best known for the comic

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two ...

'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) and ''Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow''; ''

Three Men on the Bummel ''Three Men on the Bummel'' (also known as ''Three Men on Wheels'') is a humorous novel by Jerome K. Jerome. It was published in 1900, eleven years after his most famous work, '' Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)''. The sequel br ...

'', a sequel to ''Three Men in a Boat''; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

; he published ''Three Men in a Boat'' soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.

Early life

Jerome was born at Belsize House, 1 Caldmore Road, in Caldmore,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

, England. He was the fourth child of Marguerite Jones and Jerome Clapp (who later renamed himself Jerome Clapp Jerome), an ironmonger and

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric and who does not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Although lay preache ...

who dabbled in architecture.Article on Jerome by Mark Andrews, part of series on Midlands worthies. He had two sisters, Paulina and Blandina, and one brother, Milton, who died at an early age. Jerome was registered as Jerome Clapp Jerome, like his father's amended name, and the Klapka appears to be a later variation (after the exiled Hungarian general György Klapka). The family fell into poverty owing to bad investments in the local mining industry, and debt collectors visited often, an experience that Jerome described vividly in his autobiography ''My Life and Times'' (1926). At the age of two Jerome moved with his parents to

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

, Worcestershire, then later to East London. The young Jerome attended

St Marylebone Grammar School St Marylebone Grammar School (SMGS) was a grammar school located in the London borough of the City of Westminster, from 1792 to 1981. History Philological School Founded as the Philological Society by Thomas Collingwood, under the patronage of ...

. He wished to go into politics or be a

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, ei ...

, but the death of his father when Jerome was 13 and of his mother when he was 15 forced him to quit his studies and find work to support himself. He was employed at the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

, initially collecting coal that fell along the railway, and he remained there for four years.

Acting career and early literary works

Jerome was inspired by his elder sister Blandina's love for the theatre, and he decided to try his hand at acting in 1877, under the stage name Harold Crichton. He joined a

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

troupe that produced plays on a shoestring budget, often drawing on the actors' own meagre resources – Jerome was penniless at the time – to purchase costumes and props. After three years on the road with no evident success, the 21-year-old Jerome decided that he had enough of stage life and sought other occupations. He tried to become a journalist, writing essays, satires, and short stories, but most of these were rejected. Over the next few years, he was a school teacher, a packer, and a solicitor's clerk. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with '' On the Stage – and Off'' (1885), a comic memoir of his experiences with the acting troupe, followed by '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886), a collection of humorous essays which had previously appeared in the newly founded magazine, '' Home Chimes'',Oulton, Carolyn (2012) ''Below the Fairy City: A Life of Jerome K. Jerome''. Victorian Secrets
at Google Books. Retrieved 11 May 2013. the same magazine that would later serialise ''Three Men in a Boat''. On 21 June 1888, Jerome married Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley Marris ("Ettie"), nine days after she divorced her first husband. She had a daughter from her previous five-year marriage nicknamed Elsie (her actual name was also Georgina). The honeymoon took place on the

"in a little boat," a fact that was to have a significant influence on his next and most important work, ''Three Men in a Boat''.

''Three Men in a Boat'' and later career

Jerome sat down to write ''

'' as soon as the couple returned from their honeymoon. In the novel, his wife was replaced by his longtime friends George Wingrave (George) and

Carl Hentschel Carl Hentschel (27 March 1864 – 9 January 1930) was a British artist, photographer, printmaker, inventor and businessperson. He developed techniques for printing illustrations, particularly the Hentschel Colourtype Process using three colours, ...

(Harris). This allowed him to create comic (and non-sentimental) situations which were nonetheless intertwined with the history of the Thames region. The book, 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 percent in the year following its publication, and it contributed significantly to the Thames becoming a tourist attraction. In its first twenty years alone, the book sold over a million copies worldwide. It has been adapted into films, TV, radio shows, stage plays, and even a musical. Its writing style has influenced many humourists and satirists in England and elsewhere. With the financial security that the sales of the book provided, Jerome was able to dedicate all of his time to writing. He wrote a number of plays, essays, and novels, but was never able to recapture the success of ''Three Men in a Boat''. In 1892, he was chosen by Robert Barr to edit '' The Idler'' (over

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)'' The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

). The magazine was an illustrated satirical monthly catering to gentlemen (who, following the theme of the publication, appreciated idleness). In 1893, he founded ''To-Day'', but had to withdraw from both publications because of financial difficulties and a

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

suit. Jerome's play ''Biarritz'' had a run of two months at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

between April and June 1896. In 1898, a short stay in Germany inspired ''

'', the sequel to ''Three Men in a Boat'', reintroducing the same characters in the setting of a foreign bicycle tour. The book was nonetheless unable quite to recapture the sheer comic energy and historic rootedness of its celebrated predecessor (lacking as it does the unifying thread that is the river Thames itself) and it has enjoyed only modest success by comparison. This said, some of the individual comic vignettes that make up "Bummel" are as fine as (or even finer than) those of "Boat". In 1902, he published the novel '' Paul Kelver'', which is widely regarded as autobiographical. His 1908 play '' The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' introduced a more sombre and religious Jerome. The main character was played by one of the leading actors of the time,

Johnston Forbes-Robertson Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16 January 1853 – 6 November 1937''Sir Johnston Forbes Robertson, Beauty And Grace in Acting'', Obituaries, '' The Times'', 8 November 1937.) was an English actor and theatre manager and husband of actress Gert ...

, and the play was a tremendous commercial success. It was twice made into film, in 1918 and in 1935. However, the play was condemned by critics –

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic ...

described it as "vilely stupid" and as written by a "tenth-rate writer".

First World War and last years

Jerome volunteered to serve his country at the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

but being 55 years old, he was rejected by the British Army. Eager to serve in some capacity, he volunteered as an ambulance driver for the French Army. In 1926, Jerome published his autobiography, ''My Life and Times''. Shortly afterwards, the Borough of Walsall conferred on him the title Freeman of the Borough. During these last years, Jerome spent more time at his farmhouse Gould's Grove south-east of

Ewelme Ewelme () is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, north-east of the market town of Wallingford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,048. To the east of the village is Cow Common and to the ...

near Wallingford. Jerome suffered a

paralytic stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop function ...

and a

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in June 1927, on a motoring tour from

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

to London via

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

. He lay in Northampton General Hospital for two weeks before dying on 14 June. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

and his ashes buried at St Mary's Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire. Elsie, Ettie and his sister Blandina are buried beside him. His gravestone reads "For we are labourers together with God". A small museum dedicated to his life and works was opened in 1984 at his birth home in Walsall, but it closed in 2008 and the contents were returned to

Walsall Museum Walsall Museum was a small, local history museum located in the centre of Walsall in the West Midlands. The holdings of Walsall Museum ranged from seventeenth-century firemarks to twenty-first century posters. There was also a large collection o ...

Legacy

* ''Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl'', a book by the pseudonymous "Jenny Wren", was published in 1891. The author is anonymous. The book has the same form as ''Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' but is from the point of view of a woman. * Science-fiction author

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards tha ...

credited Jerome as the source for the title of her novel '' To Say Nothing of the Dog'', this being the subtitle of ''Three Men in a Boat''. * There is a French

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

series named ' after the author. * From 1984 to 2008, there was a museum honouring him in Walsall, his birthplace. * A sculpture of a boat and a mosaic of a dog commemorate his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' on the

Millennium Green Millennium Greens are areas of green space for the benefit of local communities. 245 were created in cities, towns and villages across England to celebrate the turn of the Millennium. Their creation was funded in part by the National Lottery via ...

in New Southgate, London, where he lived as a child. * There is an English Heritage blue plaque which reads 'Jerome K. Jerome 1859–1927 Author Wrote 'Three Men in a Boat' while living here at flat 104' at 104 Chelsea Gardens, Chelsea Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom. It was erected in 1989. * There is a beer company named Cerveza Jerome in Mendoza, Argentina. Its founder was a fan of ''Three Men in a Boat''. * A building at Walsall Campus, University of Wolverhampton is named after him. *

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

named one of its Class 31 diesel locomotives after him on the 6th May 1990 at Bescot.

Bibliography

; Novels * ''

(To Say Nothing of the Dog)'' (1889) * '' Diary of a Pilgrimage (and Six Essays)'' (1891
(full text)
* ''Weeds: A Story in Seven Chapters'' (1892) * ''Novel Notes'' (1893) * ''

'' (a.k.a. ''Three Men on Wheels'') (1900) * '' Paul Kelver, a novel'' (1902) * ''Tea-table Talk'' (1903) * ''Tommy and Co'' (1904) * ''They and I'' (1909) * '' All Roads Lead to Calvary'' (1919) * ''Anthony John'' (1923) ; Collections * '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) * ''Told After Supper'' (1891) * ''John Ingerfield: And Other Stories'' (1894) * ''Sketches in Lavender, Blue, and Green'' (1895) * ''Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1898) * ''The Observations of Henry'' (1901) * ''The Angel and the Author – and Others'' (1904) (20 essays) * ''American Wives – and Others'' (1904) (25 essays, comprising 5 from ''The Angel and the Author'', and 20 from ''Idle Ideas in 1905''). * ''Idle Ideas in 1905'' (1905) * ''The Passing of the Third Floor Back: And Other Stories'' (1907) * ''Malvina of Brittany'' (1916) * ''A miscellany of sense and nonsense from the writings of Jerome K. Jerome. Selected by the author with many apologies, with forty-three illustrations by Will Owen.'' 1924 * ''Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel'' (1974) * ''After Supper Ghost Stories: And Other Tales'' (1985) * ''A Bicycle in Good Repair'' ; Autobiography *''On the Stage—and Off'' (1885) *
My Life and Times
' (1926) ; Anthologies containing stories by Jerome K. Jerome * ''Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 1st Series'' (1928) * ''A Century of Humour'' (1934) * ''The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries'' (1936) * ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1957) * ''Famous Monster Tales'' (1967) * ''The 5th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories'' (1969) * ''The Rivals of Frankenstein'' (1975) * ''The 17th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories'' (1981) * ''Stories in the Dark'' (1984) * ''Gaslit Nightmares'' (1988) * ''Horror Stories'' (1988) * ''100 Tiny Tales of Terror'' (1996) * ''Knights of Madness: Further Comic Tales of Fantasy'' (1998) * ''100 Hilarious Little Howlers'' (1999) ; Short stories * ''The Haunted Mill'' (1891) *
The New Utopia
'Published in ''Diary of a Pilgrimage (and Six Essays)'
(full text)
/ref> (1891) * ''The Dancing Partner'' (1893) * ''Evergreens'' * ''Christmas Eve in the Blue Chamber'' * ''Silhouettes'' * ''The Skeleton'' * ''The Snake'' * ''The Woman of the Saeter'' * ''The Philosopher's Joke'' (1909) * ''The Love of Ulrich Nebendahl'' (1909) ; Plays * ''Pity is Akin to Love'' (1888) * ''New Lamps for Old'' (1890) * ''The Maister of Wood Barrow: play in three acts'' (1890) * ''What Women Will Do'' (1890) * ''Birth and Breeding'' (1890) – based on Die Ehre, produced in New York in 1895 as "Honour" * ''The Rise of Dick Halward'' (1895), produced in New York the previous year as "The Way to Win a Woman" * "The Prude's Progress" (1895) co-written with Eden Phillpotts * ''The MacHaggis'' (1897) * ''John Ingerfield'' (1899) * ''The Night of 14 Feb.. 1899: a play in nine scenes'' * ''Miss Hobbs: a comedy in four acts'' (1902) – starring

Evelyn Millard Evelyn Mary Millard (18 September 1869 – 9 March 1941) was an English Shakespearean actress, actor-manager and "stage beauty" of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries perhaps best known for creating the role of Cecily Cardew in the ...

* ''Tommy'' (1906) * ''Sylvia of the Letters'' (1907) * ''Fanny and the Servant Problem, a quite possible play in four acts'' (1909) * ''The Master of Mrs. Chilvers: an improbable comedy, imagined by Jerome K. Jerome'' (1911) * ''Esther Castways'' (1913) * ''The Great Gamble'' (1914) * ''The Three Patriots'' (1915) * ''The Soul Of Nicholas Snyders : A Mystery Play in Three Acts'' (1925) * ''The Celebrity: a play in three acts'' (1926) * ''Robina's Web ("The Dovecote", or "The grey feather"): a farce in four acts'' * ''The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' (1908) (the basis of a 1918 film and a 1935 film) * ''The Night of Feb. 14th 1899'' – ''never produced'' * ''A Russian Vagabond'' – ''never produced

References

External links

* * * * * * *
The Jerome K. Jerome Society

* http://www.jeromekjerome.com/bibliography/unpublished-plays-by-jerome/
Jerome K. Jerome Quotes subject-wise

''Below the Fairy City: A Life of Jerome K. Jerome'' by Carolyn W. de la L. Oulton

Jerome K. Jerome in 1881
*
Philip de László's portrait of Jerome K. Jerome

Plays by Jerome K. Jerome on the Great War Theatre website

''A Humorist's Plea for Serious Reading'' from ''The Literary Digest'', January 13, 1906
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerome, Jerome K. 1859 births 1927 deaths 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English novelists 19th-century essayists 19th-century short story writers 19th-century travel writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century essayists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century travel writers Burials in Oxfordshire Cultural critics Cycling writers English autobiographers English critics English essayists English horror writers English humorists English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists English male short story writers English non-fiction writers English satirists English travel writers French military personnel of World War I Ghost story writers Humor researchers People educated at St Marylebone Grammar School People from Walsall Social critics