My Favourite English Book

Three Men in a Boat To Say Nothing of the Dog My favourite English book 1889 by Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist ABOUT THE AUTHOR The best known books: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) Three Men on the Bummel Diary of a Pilgrimage Novel Notes Paul Kelver Tommy and Co They and I All Roads Lead to Calvary Idle Ideas in 1905 The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow The Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Tea-Table Talk Told after Supper The Passing of the Third Floor Back 2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927 1 The story begins by introducing George, Harris, 'J.' (Jerome's narrator) and Montmorency, the dog. PROTOTYPES The three men are based on Jerome himself (the narrator J) and two real-life friends, George Wingrave (who would become a senior manager in Barclays Bank)and Carl Hentschel (the founder of a London printing business, called Harris in the book), with whom he 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. 2 A similar book was published seven years before Jerome's work. PLOT 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 boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford.What follows is a series of descriptions of comical events, not only ones from the holiday itself, but also from situations Jerome happens to remember as he’s telling his story. 3 The Thames at Sonning around 1890 INTERESTING FACTS A barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure, a useful tool in weather forecasting. Like the forecasts themselves, the barometer was blamed by the narrator for showing misleading information. 4 Page 35. "the barometer is useless" Wristwatches were only commonly worn from the 20th century. Before then, pocket watches were used. They were manufactured in Europe from the 16th century, and were designed to be carried in a pocket. They often had a protective hinged metal cover and a chain to attach them to a belt, waistcoat or lapel. They would of course stop working if not regularly wound up. Page 87. "he forgot to wind it up" SCREEN VERSION Three in a boat, not including the dog, a 1979, musical comedy filmed by Soviet television, with Andrei Mironov as Jerome, Aleksandr Shirvindt as Harris and Mikhail Derzhavin as George. 5 In 1975, the BBC produced a version for television adapted by Tom Stoppard, with Tim Curry as Jerome, Michael Palin as Harris, and Stephen Moore as George. Soviet version British version QUOTATIONS George fancies he is ill; but there’s never anything really the matter with him, you know. 6 What I had meant, of course, was, that I should boss the job, and that Harris and George should potter about under my directions. I was a hospital in myself. 1 2 3 VIDEO VERSION (RUSSIAN) 7 WHY YOU SHOUD READ IT Written over a century ago, the book has become a classic of British humorous writing, with a timeless, universal appeal. If nothing else, you need to read it to discover why it has maintained such a large following to this day. 8 Hilarious and thoughtful book! My favourite English book Author Jerome K. Jerome Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Comedy novel Publisher J.W. Arrowsmith Publication date 1889 Print (hardback) Three Men on the Bummel Thank you for attention! Teacher: A.E. Gracheva School 2038