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Three Men in a Boat: Background and Resources
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Renee, Moderator
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Jun 19, 2017 04:48AM
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"On 21 June 1888, Jerome married Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley Marris ("Ettie"), nine days after she divorced her first husband. She had a daughter from her previous, five-year marriage nicknamed Elsie (her actual name was also Georgina). The honeymoon took place on the Thames"in a little boat,"[3] a fact that was to have a significant influence on his next and most important work, Three Men in a Boat.
Jerome sat down to write Three Men in a Boat as soon as the couple returned from their honeymoon. In the novel, his wife was replaced by his longtime friends George Wingrave (George) and Carl Hentschel (Harris). This allowed him to create comic (and non-sentimental) situations which were nonetheless intertwined with the history of the Thames region. The book, published in 1889, became an instant success and is still in print. Its popularity was such that the number of registered Thames boats went up fifty percent in the year following its publication, and it contributed significantly to the Thames becoming a tourist attraction."
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"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) and Carl Hentschel (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." The trip is a typical boating holiday of the time in a Thames camping skiff.[Note 2] This was just after commercial boat traffic on the Upper Thames had died out, replaced by the 1880s craze for boating as a leisure activity."
If you can, I suggest you listen to the excellent audiobook. It really helps to get the jokes. The reader suggests the irony, or satire beautifully.
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Renee wrote: "Which reader do you like, Teresa? There are several from which to choose between Librivox and Audible."I have the Naxos audio version, read by Martin Jarvis. It's excellent.
I was able to download mine for free from my library Overdrive options. If you library has Overdrive, you might check to see whether they have it.
I am reading this slowly to savor the amusing style.
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I've been trying out the Librivox version where the reader isn't bad, but the sound quality is distracting. I may have to upgrade to Mr. Jarvis.
Teresa wrote: "If you can, I suggest you listen to the excellent audiobook. It really helps to get the jokes. The reader suggests the irony, or satire beautifully."I bought the B.J. Harrison version on audible after he read it for the Craftlit podcast. Craftlit has been responsible for joining me up with so many books! It's free and has been around for . . .ten years, I believe. Right now it is amidst "The Count of Monte Cristo" and it's been Austen-y, Hawthorne-y, so many, many -y's. I think "Woman in White" may be my favorite. Enjoy!
I am reading AND listening to this one and am really enjoying it. My audiobook version (borrowed from my library via the Libby app) is read by Hugh Laurie. He is a fine reader and this listener gets the sense that he is really enjoying the humor and wit of the story. Cheers!
I am reading
this edition which has some charming illustrations as well.
I have to revise my prior post. While I was enjoying the Hugh Laurie read audiobook, when I began to switch back and forth between the book and the recording I immediately realized that the audiobook was an abridged version. I returned it to the library and picked up an unabridged Audible version as read by a Mr. B.J. Harrison which I am enjoying. Cheers!
Could a moderator, at some point, take The Mill on the Floss off of the group page and put up Three Men in a Boat?
i have an old abridged audiobook version read by Hubert gregg, who was a huge fan of the book. i don't mind too much it being abridged as it leaves out all the long and rather florid descriptions which i am not bothered About listening to, also a bit in one of the later chapters which i dislike and always skip over when i read the book.
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Renee wrote: "I have no dexterity for loading images. However, if you click on the link above, there should be a map of the trip taken by Jerome & his friends."Good find. I've been following them on Google maps, but it doesn't show all the other info on the map you found.
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