''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-week boating holiday 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 ...
from
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and back to Kingston. The book was initially intended to be a serious travel guide,
[Jeremy Lewis' introduction to the Penguin edition.] with accounts of local history along the route, but the humorous elements took over to the point where the serious and somewhat sentimental passages seem a distraction to the
comic novel
A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literar ...
. One of the most praised things about ''Three Men in a Boat'' is how undated it appears to modern readers – the jokes have been praised as fresh and witty.
[
The three men are based on Jerome himself (the narrator Jerome K. Jerome) and two real-life friends, George Wingrave (who would become a senior manager at ]Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
) 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, ...
(the founder of a London printing business, called Harris in the book), with whom Jerome often took boating trips. The dog, Montmorency, is entirely fictional but, "as Jerome admits, developed out of that area of inner consciousness which, in all Englishmen, contains an element of the dog".[ Geoffrey Harvey (1998). "Introduction", Oxford World's Classics edition of ''Three Men in a Boat; Three Men on the Bummel''.] The trip is a typical boating holiday of the time in a Thames camping skiff.[The boat is called a ''double sculling skiff'' in the book – that is, a boat propelled by two people, each using a pair of one-handed oars ( ''sculls''). A camping skiff is a boat with an easily erected canvas cover. This effectively turns the boat into a floating tent for overnight use.]
Following the overwhelming success of ''Three Men in a Boat'', Jerome later published a sequel, about a cycling tour in Germany, titled ''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 ...
'' (also known as ''Three Men on Wheels'', 1900).
Summary
The story begins by introducing George, Harris, Jerome (always referred to as "J."), and Jerome's dog, named Montmorency. The men are spending an evening in J.'s room, smoking and discussing illnesses from which they fancy they suffer. They conclude that they are all suffering from "overwork", and need a holiday. A stay in the country and a sea trip are both considered. The country stay is rejected because Harris claims that it would be dull, the sea-trip after J. describes bad experiences his brother-in-law and a friend had on previous sea-trips. The three eventually decide on a boating holiday up the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford, during which they will camp, notwithstanding more of J.'s anecdotes about previous mishaps with tents and camping stoves.
They set off the following Saturday. George must go to work that morning, so J. and Harris make their way to Kingston by train. They cannot find the right train at Waterloo station
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
(the station's confusing layout was a well-known theme of Victorian comedy) so they bribe a train driver to take his train to Kingston, where they collect the hired boat and start the journey. They meet George further up-river at Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
.
The remainder of the story describes their river journey and the incidents that occur. The book's original purpose as a guidebook is apparent as J., the narrator, describes passing landmarks and villages such as Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
, Hampton Church, Magna Carta Island
Magna Carta Island is an ait in the River Thames in England, on the reach above Bell Weir Lock. It is in Berkshire facing water-meadows forming Runnymede. Its civil and ecclesiastical parish is Wraysbury so it was transferred from Buckinghamsh ...
and Monkey Island
''Monkey Island'' is a series of adventure games. The first four games in the series were produced and published by LucasArts, earlier known as Lucasfilm Games. The fifth installment of the franchise was developed by Telltale Games in collabor ...
, and muses on historical associations of these places. However, he frequently digresses into humorous anecdotes that range from the unreliability of barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
s for weather forecasting to the difficulties encountered when learning to play the Scottish bagpipes. The most frequent topics of J.'s anecdotes are river pastimes such as fishing and boating and the difficulties they present to the inexperienced and unwary and to the three men on previous boating trips.
The book includes classic comedy set pieces, such as the Plaster of Paris
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
trout in chapter 17, and the "Irish stew
Irish stew ( ga, stobhach/Stobhach Gaelach) is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from t ...
" in chapter 14 – made by mixing most of the leftovers in the party's food hamper
A hamper refers to one of several related basket-like items. In primarily British usage, it refers to a wicker basket, usually large, that is used for the transport of items, often food. In North America, the term generally refers to a household ...
:
Reception
The reception by critics varied between lukewarm and hostile. The use of slang was condemned as "vulgar" and the book was derided as written to appeal to "'Arrys and 'Arriets" – then common sneering terms for working-class Londoners who dropped their Hs when speaking. ''Punch'' magazine dubbed Jerome "'Arry K. 'Arry". Modern commentators have praised the humour, but criticised the book's unevenness, as the humorous sections are interspersed with more serious passages written in a sentimental, sometimes purple
Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...
, style.
Yet the book sold in huge numbers. "I pay Jerome so much in royalties", the publisher told a friend, "I cannot imagine what becomes of all the copies of that book I issue. I often think the public must eat them."[
] The first edition was published in August 1889 and serialised in the magazine '' Home Chimes'' in the same year.[''Home Chimes'' was published 1884–1894 by Richard Willoughby, London, price 1/-. It was a (first weekly, then monthly) miscellany, mostly fiction by little-known authors. Se]
Magazine Data File
/ref> The first edition remained in print from 1889 until March 1909, when the second edition was issued. During that time, 202,000 copies were sold.[
] In his introduction to the 1909 second edition, Jerome states that he had been told another million copies had been sold in America by pirate printers.[
] The book was translated into many languages. The Russian edition was particularly successful and became a standard school textbook. Jerome later complained in a letter to ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' of Russian books not written by him, published under his name to benefit from his success.[
] Since its publication, ''Three Men in a Boat'' has never been out of print. It continues to be popular, with ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' ranking it No. 33 of ''The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time'' in 2003, and no. 25 in 2015 and ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' ranking it No. 2 in the ''50 Funniest Books Ever'' in 2009. In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read
The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey wa ...
.
In popular culture
The river trip is easy to recreate, following the detailed description, and this is sometimes done by fans of the book. Much of the route remains unchanged. For example, all the pubs and inns named are still open.[
''The Blue Posts'', 81 Newman Street, London;''The Royal Stag'' and the ''Manor House'' at ]Datchet
Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventual ...
; ''The Crown'' at Marlow; ''The George and Dragon'' at Wargrave; '' The Bull'' at Sonning
Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river".
Geo ...
;
The Swan
' at Pangbourne
Pangbourne is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, Pangbourne railway station, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a vill ...
;
The Bull
' at Streatley; and ''The Barley Mow'' at Clifton Hampden
Clifton Hampden is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over east of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Since 1932 the civil parish has included the village of Burcot, east of Clifton Hampden. The 2011 Census record ...
. ''The Bells of Ouseley'' at Old Windsor
Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west.
Etymology
The name originates from ol ...
still exists, but the building was demolished and rebuilt in 1936. It is now part of the Harvester chain.
Audio
Audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
s of the book have been released many times, with different narrators, including Sir Timothy Ackroyd
Sir Timothy John Robert Whyte Ackroyd, 3rd Baronet (born 7 October 1958), known as Timothy Ackroyd, is an English actor.
Ackroyd was born on 7 October 1958 to Sir John Robert Whyte Ackroyd, 2nd Baronet, and Jennifer Eileen McLeod Bishop.
Earl ...
(2013), Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...
(1999), Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in '' Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End ...
(1999), Martin Jarvis (2005) and Steven Crossley (2011).
The BBC has broadcast on radio a number of dramatisations of the story, including a musical version in 1962 starring Kenneth Horne
Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...
, Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...
and Hubert Gregg, a three-episode version in 1984 with Jeremy Nicholas playing all of the characters and a two-part adaptation for ''Classic Serial'' in 2013 with Hugh Dennis
Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist who has appeared in the comedy double act Punt and Dennis with partner Steve Punt. He played Dr Piers Crispin in the ...
, Steve Punt
Stephen Mark Punt (born 15 September 1962)[Mr Stephen Mark Punt](_blank)
company-director-c ...
and Julian Rhind-Tutt
Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor, best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series ''Green Wing'' (2004–2006).
Early life
Rhind-Tutt was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, the youngest o ...
.
Film and television
*''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 ...
'', a 1920 silent British film with Lionelle Howard
Lionelle Howard (1886 – 13 September 1930) was a British actor of the silent era who was born as Francis Nathan Coxin in Cirencester, Gloucestershire and died in Uxbridge, Middlesex. He appeared in a number of productions made by Astra Films ...
as J., H. Manning Haynes
Horace Manning Haynes (born: Lyminster, Sussex – died 3 March 1957, Epsom, England) (often credited as H. Manning Haynes) was a British-born film director and actor. He was married to the screenwriter Lydia Hayward, with whom he frequen ...
as Harris and Johnny Butt
John William H. Butt (1870–1931) was an English film actor of the silent era.
He was born in Bradford and died in North Bierley, West Yorkshire.
Selected filmography
* ''The Chimes'' (1914)
* ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1915)
* '' The Gr ...
as George.
*''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 ...
'' a 1933 British film with William Austin, Edmund Breon
Edmund Breon (born Iver Edmund de Breon MacLaverty; 12 December 1882 – 24 June 1953) was a Scottish film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1907 and 1952.
Life and career
Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Br ...
, and Billy Milton
Billy Milton (8 December 190522 November 1989) was a British stage, film and television actor. Born in Paddington, Middlesex, (now in London), as William Thomas Milton, he was the son of Harry Harman Milton (1880-1942), a commission agent, and ...
.
*''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 ...
'', a 1956 British film with David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...
as J., Jimmy Edwards
James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''.
Early lif ...
as Harris and Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...
as George.
*''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 ...
'', a 1961 German film very loosely based on the book.
* ''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 ...
'', a 1975 BBC-produced version for television adapted by Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
and directed by Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...
, with Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
as J., Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries.
Palin w ...
as Harris, and Stephen Moore as George.
*''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 ...
'' (Russian: Трое в лодке, не считая собаки), a 1979, musical comedy filmed by Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
television, with Andrei Mironov as J., Aleksandr Shirvindt
Aleksandr Anatolyevich Shirvindt (russian: Александр Анатольевич Ширвиндт, born July 19, 1934) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, screenwriter and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1989). Since 2000 h ...
as Harris and Mikhail Derzhavin
Mikhail Mikhajlovich Derzhavin(russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Держа́вин; 15 June 1936, Moscow – 10 January 2018, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian actor.
Biography
Mikhail Mikhajlovich Derzhavin was born in the famil ...
as George.
Peter Lovesey
Peter (Harmer) Lovesey (born 1936), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, is a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detec ...
's Victorian detective novel ''Swing, Swing Together'' (1976), partly based on the book, featured as the second episode of the television series ''Cribb
''Cribb'' (''Sergeant Cribb'' in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to ...
'' (1980).
In 2005 the comedians Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...
, Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the W ...
, and Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956) is a British comedian, television personality, and writer. He came to prominence in the comedy show ''Who Dares Wins'' and was a regular panellist on the game show ''They Think It's All Over'' for many ...
embarked on a recreation of the novel for what was to become a regular yearly BBC TV series, ''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 ...
''. Their first expedition was along the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford, recreating the original novel.
Theatre
A stage adaptation earned Jeremy Nicholas a Best Newcomer in a Play nomination at the 1981 Laurence Olivier Awards
The 1981 Society of West End Theatre Awards were held in 1981 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of West End Theatre. The awards would not become the Laurence Olivier Awards, as they are known today, until the 1 ...
. The book was adapted by Clive Francis
Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor.
Early life
Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner.
His father played Detective Chief ...
for a 2006 production that toured the UK.
Art
A sculpture of a stylised boat was created in 1999 to commemorate ''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
New Southgate is a residential suburb straddling three Outer London Boroughs: a small part of the east of Barnet, a south-west corner of Enfield and in loosest definitions, based on nearest railway stations, a small northern corner of Haring ...
, London, where the author lived as a child. In 2012 a mosaic of a dog's head was put onto the same Green to commemorate Montmorency.
Other works of literature
In 1891, ''Three Women in One Boat: A River Sketch'' by Constance MacEwen was published. This book relates the journey of three young university women who set out to emulate the river trip in ''Three Men in a Boat'' in an effort to raise the spirits of one of them, who is about to be expelled from university. To take the place of Montmorency, they bring a cat called Tintoretto.
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
mentions the Plaster of Paris trout in his 1910 novel ''Psmith in the City
''Psmith in the City'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 23 September 1910 by Adam & Charles Black, London.McIlvaine (1990), pp. 22–23, A14. The story was originally released as a serial in ''The Captain'' magazine, between Oc ...
''. Psmith's boss, while delivering a political speech, pretends to have personally experienced a succession of men claiming to have caught a fake trout. Psmith interrupts the speech to "let him know that a man named Jerome had pinched his story."
Three Men in a Boat is referenced in the 1956 parody novel on mountaineering, ''The Ascent of Rum Doodle
''The Ascent of Rum Doodle'' is a short 1956 novel by W. E. Bowman (1911–1985). It is a parody of the non-fictional chronicles of mountaineering expeditions (notably H. W. Tilman's account of the ascent of Nanda Devi and Maurice Herzog's book ...
'', where the head porter Bing is said to spend "much of his leisure immersed in a Yogistani translation of it."
In ''Have Space Suit—Will Travel
''Have Space Suit—Will Travel'' is a science fiction novel for young readers by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (August, September, and October 1958) and published by Sc ...
'', by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
(1958), the main character's father is an obsessive fan of the book, and spends much of his spare time repeatedly re-reading it.
The book ''Three Men (Not) in a Boat: and Most of the Time Without a Dog'' (1983, republished 2011) by Timothy Finn is a loosely related novel about a walking trip.
A re-creation in 1993 by poet Kim Taplin and companions resulted in the travelogue ''Three Women in a Boat''.
''Gita sul Tevere'' is an Italian humorous book inspired by this famous English novel.
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 ...
paid tribute to Jerome's novel in her own 1997 Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
–winning book ''To Say Nothing of the Dog
''To Say Nothing of the Dog'': ''or, How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last'' is a 1997 comic science fiction novel by Connie Willis. It used the same setting, including time-traveling historians, which Willis explored in '' Fire Watch'' ...
''. Her time-travelling protagonist also takes an ill-fated voyage on the Thames with two humans and a dog as companions, and encounters George, Harris, 'J' and Montmorency. The title of Willis' novel refers to the full title of the original book.[
Fantasy author ]Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...
wrote a set of stories in which Jerome's characters encounter supernatural creatures: "Three Men and a Vampire" and "Three Men and a Werewolf" were published in ''Some Time Later: Fantastic Voyages in Alternate Worlds'' (2017). "Three Men and a Sasquatch" was published in ''Next Stop on the #13'' in 2019.
Anne Youngson wrote ''Three Women and a Boat'' (Penguin, 2021), about three middle-aged strangers setting off on an adventure in a narrowboat
A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commerc ...
. The novel was chosen for BBC Radio 2 Book Club
See also
* Locks on the River Thames
The English River Thames is navigable from Cricklade (for very small, shallow boats) or Lechlade (for larger boats) to the sea, and this part of the river falls 71 meters (234 feet). There are 45 locks on the river, each with one or more a ...
* Skiffing
Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing (or more correctly sculling) a Thames skiff. The skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways ...
* Thames meander
Thames meander refers to a long-distance journey over all or part of the River Thames in England. Walking the Thames Path is itself a meander, but the term usually applies to journeys using other methods such as rowing, punting, running, or swimm ...
, a long-distance journey over all or part of the River Thames
Explanatory notes
Citations
General bibliography
* Jerome, Jerome K. ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)''. Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1889.
* Jerome, Jerome K. ''Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog!'' Wordsworth Classics. , wit
Boulter's Lock by Edward John Gregory
on the cover, 1993.
* Jerome, Jerome K., Jeremy Lewis. ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' and ''Three Men on the Bummel''. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1999. .
External links
*
*
''Three Men in a Boat''
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
(scanned books original editions color illustrated)
*
''Three Men in a Boat''
illustrated epub via Mobileread
IMDb search
{{Authority control
1889 British novels
British comedy novels
British novels adapted into films
British novels adapted into plays
British novels adapted into television shows
Culture associated with the River Thames
J. W. Arrowsmith books
Novels by Jerome K. Jerome
Novels set in Berkshire
Novels set in Buckinghamshire
Novels set in London
Novels set in Oxford
Novels set in Oxfordshire
Novels set in Surrey
Victorian novels