What do you know of Jerome K.Jerome and his place in English literature?
In the history of the English literature Jerome K. Jerome occupies a modest place. He cannot be compared with Dickens,Thackeray, or Bernard Shaw, but he is well known as awriter-humorist not only in his country but in othercountries too.
Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in England on May 2,1859 in the family of ruined businessman. Jerome'schildhood was poor and sad. He could not finish schoolbecause his father died in 1871 and the boy had to beginworking to support his family. First he worked as a clerk. Later he took up teaching journalism and acting. For three years he was an actor and had to play different parts. He had very little money and often went hungry and had no place to sleep. When he had free time Jerome tried to write. He wrote plays, stories and articles, but nothing was published. His first literary success was a one-act comedy which was performed in the Globe theatre in London in 1886. In1889 a collection of his articles was published. They were published as a book under the title "The Idle Thoughts of An Idle Fellow". This book became very popular in England, and it was published 105 times in 4 years. In 1889 Jerome's best book "Three Men in a Boat" also came out. "The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow" and "Three Men in a Boat" made the author famous. The books were translated into several European languages. In the following years Jerome published several books and plays. He went travelling all over Europe and in 1899 he visited St. Petersburg, where he was met with great enthusiasm. He knew the Russian literaturevery well.
The works of Jerome are full of humor and they can't but amuse the reader.The book "Three Men in a Boat" includes classic comedy set-pieces, such as the story of two drunken men who slide into the same bed in the dark, 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.»
Jerome K. Jerome also wrote serious books, but the public didn't like them. He criticized German imperialism and the policy of Britainin China. Jerome's last book was his autobiography "My Life and Time". He died in 1927.