Three Men in a Boat

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is about three friends and a dog rowing their way along the Thames toward Oxford. The human characters on the boat are George, Harris, and the author, Jerome. The dog, Montmorency, is a rat terrier. The three young men consider themselves capable outdoorsmen, though they have trouble with simple outdoor survival skills. Setting up a tent flummoxes them. Cooking on a camp stove proves to be too complicated a task. Yet, they enjoy their journey, even though they end up taking a train for the last part of their trip back home from Oxford to London, due to foul weather. They get along relatively well, though they are occasionally at odds with one another.

These disagreements are healed by Jerome’s humor. Their friendship is shown in the way they are willing to not only share a room at an inn, but also sleep three to a bed when necessary.

Along the way, Jerome tells stories about the places they visit. His stories tend in the direction of his own fanciful preferences, which harken back to tales of knights and damsels in distress. He extols, or praises and reveres, chivalry, the code of conduct that once bound the knights of Medieval Europe and England. The book flows much the same way their progress along the Thames progresses--it meanders. Traveling by rowboat, they are not controlled by the wind, so are able to determine their own path.



Jerome, known as J in the story, is the narrator. He represents the author, and shares many similarities with him at the time of the book’s publication in 1889. He is single, young, and a member of the middle class from London. On occasion, his daydreaming about knights leads him to lose track of steering the boat, which causes some mischief for the three young men and Montmorency. He uses his humor to make fun of his own vanity, as well as that of his friends.

Although the trip was his idea, George does not join the boating trip right away because he works as a bank clerk. George is known for his tendency to sleep late in the mornings. This is ironically displayed when he dozes off while on watch one night. He wakes, thinking he is late for work. After dressing and racing to the bus stop, he realizes that he is not, and is unable to fall asleep again for the remainder of the night. It is at his suggestion they take the train home for the last leg of their journey. On the train, the three men and the dog share a sumptuous meal.

Harris, short for William Samuel Harris, is J’s other friend. Fond of drinking, he always seems to know the best pubs no matter where they end up. One night, after drinking too much, his own imagination takes over, and he believes they are being attacked by swans. Though he has a short temper, Harris also has a good sense of humor, and often tries to perform comic songs--though he usually forgets the words and takes his frustrations out on the pianist.



Montmorency behaves as any rat terrier might. He loves to catch rats, chase felines, and start scuffles with other dogs.

Humor and its relativity play a major part in the story and are principal themes. J states that point of view determines whether a person finds a situation funny. Beyond that, acknowledgement of this relativity leads to a new understanding of humor. The other unique thing about Three Men in a Boat is that J uses observational humor. For example, he comments that rope has a supernatural ability to tangle, even without human involvement. The same joke has lived on to the modern age with twinkle lights, which always seem to tangle once removed from their packaging. Observational comedy became popular in the 1950s, so this book is interesting in that it proves this style of humor was in use decades earlier.

The other major theme in Three Men in a Boat is the pace of the narrative. As mentioned previously, the story moves as the river does. For the most part, J tells the story--and all the stories within the story--at a relaxed pace, but there are certain moments and scenes where the tension rises. This mimics the way a river can become powerful in certain areas while remaining calm in others.



In the late nineteenth century, the book did not receive favorable criticism. Despite that, it was popular with many copies sold and translations produced in many languages. More recently, Three Men in a Boat has found a home on top-book lists, including “The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time” in 2003 and “50 Funniest Books Ever” in 2009.