''Three Men on the Bummel'' (also known as ''Three Men on Wheels'') is a humorous novel by

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

. 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 brings back the three companions who figured in ''

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 tw ...

'', this time on a bicycle tour through the German

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. D. C. Browning's introduction to the 1957 Everyman's edition says "Like most sequels, it has been compared unfavourably with its parent story, but it was only a little less celebrated than ''Three Men in a Boat'' and was for long used as a school book in Germany." Jeremy Nicholas of the Jerome K. Jerome Society regards it as a "comic masterpiece" containing "set pieces" as funny or funnier than those in its predecessor, but, taken as a whole, not as satisfying due to the lack of as strong a unifying thread.

The word 'Bummel'

D. C. Browning writes "The title must be puzzling to many readers, for 'bummel' will not be found in English dictionaries." It is a German word, as Jerome does not explain until the end of the book, and apart from his book, it has not received any widespread use in English. (The first American edition, published by Dodd Mead in 1900, was entitled ''Three Men on Wheels''.) One of the characters in the book asks, "how would you translate ummel" to which the narrator replies, in the very final paragraph of the book: :"A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started. Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when it's over." The general style and manner of the book are similar to its predecessor. It is a series of humorous vignettes, each of which builds slowly, through accumulation of layer on layer of detail, through several pages. Jeremy Nicholas calls these "set pieces." Most of them concern bicycling, genial (if shallow) commentary on German culture from the point of view of a British tourist, or situation-comedy-like depictions of interpersonal interactions between the characters.

Cycling

The novel was written near the end of the

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...

bicycle craze The bike boom or bicycle craze is any of several specific historic periods marked by increased bicycle enthusiasm, popularity, and sales. Prominent examples include 1819 and 1868, as well as the decades of the 1890s and 1970sthe latter espe ...

, launched by the development of the two-wheeled

safety bicycle A safety bicycle (or simply a safety) is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s as an alternative to the penny-farthing ("ordinary") and is now the most common type of bicycle. Early bicycles of this style were kno ...

. It depicts an era when bicycles had just become a familiar piece of middle-class recreational equipment. The references to brand competition, advertising, and enthusiasts' attitudes toward their equipment resonate with modern readers. The novel invites comparison with

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The Wheels of Chance ''The Wheels of Chance'' is an early comic novel by H. G. Wells about an August 1895 cycling holiday, somewhat in the style of ''Three Men in a Boat''. In 1922 it was adapted into a silent film ''The Wheels of Chance (film), The Wheels of Chance' ...

''. Many of the comments on cycling are relevant—and funny—today. Those who have purchased

ergonomic Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...

bicycle saddles, intended to relieve pressure on the

perineal nerve The perineal nerve is a nerve of the pelvis. It arises from the pudendal nerve in the pudendal canal. It gives superficial branches to the skin, and a deep branch to muscles. It supplies the skin and muscles of the perineum. Its latency is test ...

s, may not know that these are not a new invention:

Germany

Jerome's comic stereotypes of Germany and the German character provide some picture of the country during the period of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, at least how it was popularly perceived in Britain. Generally, the country is portrayed as clean and orderly, yet heavily policed, with the authorities strictly enforcing even the most trivial of a vast number of laws and regulations (this causes the three men to frequently be in minor trouble with the law). The German people are described as amiable, unselfish, homely, kind and egalitarian; yet they are also placid and obedient, eager to obey those in authority. Jerome goes on to comment that it would be consistent with the German character for a criminal condemned to death to be simply given a piece of rope, and told to go and hang himself. The Englishmen spend some time in the company of students; Jerome describes

German Student Corps Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" ('' n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of ''Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still existi ...

and their customs of the ''Kneipe'', an organised beer party, and the ''

Mensur Academic fencing (german: link=no, akademisches Fechten) or is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations () in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia, and, to a minor extent, in Belgium, Lithuania, and Pol ...

'', or Academic fencing. The mensur sword duels are described at length, with little humour, and with Jerome expressing extreme disapproval for the tradition. Jerome would have been aware of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's humorous travelogue, ''

A Tramp Abroad ''A Tramp Abroad'' is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created f ...

'' (1880), based on a walking tour through similar parts of Germany, with extensive comments on the language and culture. ''Three Men on the Bummel'' follows in this vein. At least one of Jerome's remarks, however, is remarkably prescient:

Comparison with ''Three Men in a Boat''

Jeremy Nicholas says that the book is "unfairly chastised as being an ineffectual afterthought" to ''

'', and that "the set pieces (the boot shop, Harris and his wife on the tandem, Harris confronting the hose-pipe, the animal riot in the hill-top restaurant) are as polished and funny (funnier, some would say) as anything in the earlier book." His analysis is that

Adaptations

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 a ...

read the book as a ''

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...

'' for the BBC in 2001.

Notes

# D. C. Browning, 1957; introduction to ''Three Men and a Boat'' and ''Three Men on the Bummel''; Everyman; J. M. Dent and Sons # Jeremy Nicholas
Three Men in a Boat and on the Bummel—The story behind Jerome's two comic masterpieces
# D. C. Browning, op. cit. # American Heritage, 4th edition, does not have it.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') was published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 ...

, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 200

does not have it in Jerome's sense; it defines "bummel" as "chiefly Scotland, ''bumble,''" which in turn is defined as a humming sound, buzz, or rumble. ::Both ''The

Chambers Dictionary The ''Chambers Dictionary'' (''TCD'') was first published by William Chambers (publisher), William and Robert Chambers (publisher born 1802), Robert Chambers as ''Chambers's English Dictionary'' in 1872. It was an expanded version of ''Chambers' ...

'' and the ''New

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary The ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' (''SOED'') is an English language dictionary published by the Oxford University Press. The SOED is a two-volume abridgement of the twenty-volume ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''). Print editions ...

'' ''do'' list 'bummel' in precisely Jerome's sense (a stroll or leisurely journey). Both also give the German ''Bummel'' (noun) or ''bummeln'' (verb) as the origin of the word ' bum' in all its chiefly American senses. Chambers does have the Scottish variant of 'bumble' (as in bumblebee), but spells it 'bummle'. Bummel (German) : ''No preset destination or goal''. Closest English equivalent verb '''aimless loafing # (American edition entitled "Three Men on Wheels") Jerome K(lapka) Jerome, Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2005 # Jeremy Nicholas, op. cit. # In the children's book

Fungus the Bogeyman ''Fungus the Bogeyman'' is a 1977 children's picture book by British artist Raymond Briggs. It follows one day in the life of the title character, a working class Bogeyman with the mundane job of scaring human beings. The character and all relate ...

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

(1977), the saddle of Fungus's bicycle is called a bummel, and is partly responsible for the vehicle's propulsion.

External links

''Three Men on the Bummel''
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, ...

(illustrated) * {{Jerome K. Jerome 1900 British novels Novels by Jerome K. Jerome British comedy novels Novels about cycling Novels set in Germany J. W. Arrowsmith books