Three in Norway, by Two of Them [J.a. Lees and W.J. Clutterbuck]. - Scholar's Choice Edition

by James Arthur Lees

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Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Victorian

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1882

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1882, this humorous travelogue was the inspiration for Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, and if you enjoyed that book, you’d probably like this one. The tone is very similar and in places this is nearly as funny.

Three British men spend a summer hunting and fishing in Norway, traveling by donkey and canoe, camping in the wild, and living mostly off of what they shoot and catch. Not that they're completely roughing it - they have a great deal of equipment and they hire locals to haul it around and to assist with the hunting.

My favorite section was in the middle, when all three men are established at their permanent camp and life assumes "its proper phase of perpetual picnic". They describe gorgeous scenery: lakes, rivers, mountains and glaciers. They poke gentle fun at Norwegian eccentricities. They bemoan the rigors of torrential rain, aggressive mosquitoes ("the great green-eyed Möge—which bites a lump out of your leg and then flies to the nearest tree to eat it"), recalcitrant fish, timid reindeer and elusive birds ("Esau went off in his canoe after some scaup ducks on the lake; and brought home two, after following them—according to his after-dinner account of the struggle—for about six hours, while they swam, and flew, and dived; and he paddled, and swore, and shot.").

I'm not more than ordinarily interested in hunting and fishing, but I was very much amused by this account anyway.

The narration struck me as a little odd because it's written entirely in first person plural ("we arose early", etc.) and the narrator is never distinguished as one of the three.

This is available from Project Gutenberg, but the illustrations (sketches from the men's journals) did not show up on my kindle; I had to go look at them online.

[Christian Leonard Quale · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years my mother has kept saying "You should read this book", and for years I've been meaning to read it. So, being at home on holidays, I took the battered, older-than-myself, obviously well-read edition of this book off the shelf and got on with it. It is a travel-diary first published in 1882. Yes, eighteen hundred and eighty-two. The age of it is part of what makes it rather remarkable. It follows three Britons on their adventures fishing and hunting in the desolate mountains of Norway. It's written in a very dry, very funny, and very British style, and makes a number of rather witty observations about the Norwegian way of life, Norwegian nature and Norwegian people. The interesting thing is how many of these observations I find myself being able to relate to today, over a hundred years later. I really enjoyed the book and laughed out loud quite a few times reading it. Though, I'm probably biased. A rather entertaining read.

[Lars · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book written 140 years ago it's surprising how well dry wit as a form of humour survives the passage of time.
This book of a hunting trip in Norway reads surprisingly like a modern book.
Read it if you want to get a glimpse of what a holiday by some upper class Englishman with a good sense of humour was like in the 1880s.

[Nick Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It helps if you're interested in fishing, shooting and the outdoors; but even if not, Three in Norway is a fascinating insight into the late 19th century British mindset. No wonder the Brits conquered half the world (saying "Sorry old chap" whilst doing so). On prominent display is their unquestioning self-assurance, hardiness and self-effacing humour. This is in places a very, very funny book.

Written, unusually, in the second person singular, it also plays ambiguously with narrative perspective, sometimes to wonderful comic effect. I haven't read it for some years, but the passage leaving Oslo harbour on the return journey is a deliciously subtle piece of writing, glorying in adventure, youth and the natural world whilst at the same time poking fun at itself. A classic.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three young men, also from England travel to Norway in or before 1882 (which is to say it's published on that date.), to spend the summer fishing and hunting reindeer. Like the unaccompanied females, class distinctions aren't examined but by having such copious free time and money to easily employ a handful of locals as servants / trackers / porters all summer. Though like the women (I had read Unaccompanied Females in Norway immediately prior), only moreso, they perfectly happy to spend their time essentially camping in shelters they've constructed. I'm not familiar enough with Norwegian geography to have immediately recognized the location of placenames, and I'm not sure any other than the larger towns cropped up in both books but I got the impression they were in about the same area, and/or it sounded essentially similar. One feature that crops up prominently in both books are the mountain "seters" which appear to be communal shelters built up in the mountains used by locals who are up there seasonably with their herds and traveling huntsmen / tourists. It seems they're free for use by all comers and it sounds like quite the social experience, a bit like staying in a hostel.

What I like most about this book though is that it is a rare example of a book written in first person plural. And it genuinely feels like the two of them wrote it together, seemlessly giving both's perspectives on events where they might diverge, and most amusingly of all, casually making fun of both of them. One gets the impression they had an agreement not to delete, or were just too comfortable and easygoing to care to do so, any teasingly satirical portrayal of themselves by the other. Where the one female writer of the prior book seemed good natured but rarely dabbled in actual humor, this book has some passages that really make you smile and laugh as you can feel the jests the boys are making of eachother. Aside from the barbs they aim at eachother, the authors employ satire and the humorous turn of phrase very effectively throughout.

[Maren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my dad’s favorite book. And even though it had it’s cleverly funny moments, it certainly wasn’t for me.

The edition I read was in Norwegian, and it’s like, OLD old. It doesn’t say what year it was published, but there’s a handwritten inscription reading, «1986 - happy 60th birthday» and the dust jacket is really beat up.

[Mondrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is no great work of fiction. Mostly of interest because of the historical perspective of the area and life at the time. These guys are tough dudes, they camp out in primitive conditions for a few months over the summer in Norway. The book consists of descriptions of fishing, some good descriptions of life at the time, food, travel conditions, housing and people. They ate what seems like awful food, primitive soups made of bits and pieces, flat bread and lots of fish. Interesting descriptions of the areas in Norway. I dont know Norway at all so couldnt tell how it has changed. Tracked some of the trip using Google maps but it didnt really hit home. I believe this is popular in Norway and Sweden. Anyway, not an exciting read more a travelogue but interesting from an historical perspective.

[Samuel]

The authors' playful writing style makes this wonderfully light to read. I rather fancy a trip to Norwegian wilderness now.
There are parts which I had to assign to an age gone by, as the idea of servants is rather foreign, but taken on its readability, very enjoyable.

[Jacqueline]

In Norwegian. Translated by H.J. Müller.

[Henrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing little book