Three men in a boat (to say nothing of the fame)

At the end of the XIXth century, river trips were in fashion in England. Therefore, Jerome K. Jerome, an English writer, suggested to the editor of the magazine “Home Evangelist” the guidebook idea “The History of Thames”. The author assured in the preface that the characters had real prototypes. It was his longtime friends George Wingrave (George) and Carl Hentschel (Harris). But the author invented one of the main characters – Montmorency, a dog. This allowed him to create comic situations which were nonetheless intertwined with the history of the Thames region. The book “Three men in a boat (to say nothing of the dog)”, published in 1889, became an instant success and has never been out of 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.

More information on Jerome K. Jerome’s life and works you can find in the Foreign Language Department’s book exhibition.