Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
'Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)' 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 of his brother-in-law and a friend on sea trips. The three eventually decide on a boating holiday up the River Thames, 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 day, so J. and Harris make their way to Kingston by train. They cannot find the right train at Waterloo station (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.
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 Church, Magna Carta Island and Monkey Island, and muses on historical associations of these places. However, he frequently digresses into humorous anecdotes that range from the unreliability of barometers 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 trout in chapter 17, and the "Irish stew" in chapter 14 – made by mixing most of the leftovers in the party's food hamper:
I forget the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted; and I remember that, towards the end, Montmorency, who had evinced great interest in the proceedings throughout, strolled away with an earnest and thoughtful air, reappearing, a few minutes afterwards, with a dead water-rat in his mouth, which he evidently wished to present as his contribution to the dinner; whether in a sarcastic spirit, or with a genuine desire to assist, I cannot say.
— Chapter 16
Book Details
Author
Jerome K. Jerome
England
Jerome was inspired by his older 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 troupe that produ...
More on Jerome K. JeromeDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Sight Unseen by Mary Roberts Rinehart
It is a thrilling mystery novel that follows the story of a young woman named Judith and her fiancé as they investigate a series of strange occurrence...
The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens
The story follows the adventures of a group of people who find themselves trapped in one of these parallel worlds and must find a way to escape. Stev...
The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim
This is a captivating novel that transports readers to the picturesque island of Rügen, where the protagonist, Elizabeth, embarks on a remarkable jour...
Aleriel; or, A Voyage to Other Worlds by Wladislaw Lach-Szyrma
Imagine a world where space travel is possible, and where you can visit other planets and meet alien civilizations. That is the world of Aleriel; or,...
Howards End by Edward M. Forster
It's sad, but true to say that today Edward Morgan Forster's works are known more from their film and television adaptations rather than from their or...
The City That Was by Stephen Smith
The City That Was is a mystery novel that will take you on a journey to a lost city. The year is 1876. A young woman named Elizabeth travels to the A...
The Fur Country by Jules Verne
The Fur Country or Seventy Degrees North Latitude is an adventure novel by Jules Verne in The Extraordinary Voyages series, first published in 1873. T...
The Purple Land by William Henry Hudson
Escape to a land of untamed beauty and raw adventure, where danger lurks around every corner and passion burns as fiercely as the sun. Richard Lamb,...
Handy Mandy in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Mandy, a young girl with seven hands, is whisked away to the magical land of Oz. Mandy is a young girl who loves to build things. She has seven hands...
Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard
“An Adventurer – He that goes out to meet whatever may come!” This is the credo of Allan Quatermain, the quintessential, swashbuckling protagonist of...
Reviews for Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
No reviews posted or approved, yet...