Jerome K. Jerome facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jerome K. Jerome
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Photograph of Jerome published in the 1890s
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| Born | Jerome Clapp Jerome 2 May 1859 Caldmore, Walsall, England |
| Died | 14 June 1927 (aged 68) Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Resting place | St Mary's Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire |
| Occupation | Author, playwright, editor |
| Genre | Humour |
Jerome Klapka Jerome (born May 2, 1859 – died June 14, 1927) was an English writer and humourist. He is best known for his funny travel story, Three Men in a Boat (1889).
He also wrote essay collections like Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886). Another popular book was Three Men on the Bummel, which was a sequel to Three Men in a Boat. Jerome was born in Walsall, England. His family sometimes struggled with money. He also faced poverty when he was young and trying to find work.
In his twenties, he started publishing his writing and became successful. He got married in 1888. Their honeymoon was spent on a boat on the River Thames. Soon after, he published Three Men in a Boat. He kept writing novels, non-fiction, and plays for many years. However, none of his later works became as famous as Three Men in a Boat.
Contents
Jerome's Early Life
Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England. He was the fourth child of Marguerite Jones and Jerome Clapp. His father was an ironmonger and a lay preacher who also tried architecture. Jerome had two sisters, Paulina and Blandina, and a brother, Milton, who died young.
His family became poor because of bad investments in local mining. Debt collectors often visited their home. Jerome wrote about these tough times in his autobiography, My Life and Times (1926). When he was two, his family moved to Stourbridge, then later to East London.
Jerome went to St Marylebone Grammar School. He dreamed of working in politics or becoming a famous writer. But his father died when Jerome was 13. His mother died when he was 15. This meant he had to leave school and find a job to support himself. He worked for the London and North Western Railway. His first job was collecting coal that fell along the tracks. He stayed there for four years.
Becoming an Actor and Writer
Jerome's older sister, Blandina, loved the theatre. This inspired him to try acting in 1877. He used the stage name Harold Crichton. He joined a repertory acting group. They put on plays with very little money. The actors often had to use their own small savings to buy costumes and props. Jerome had no money at this time.
After three years of acting without much success, Jerome, then 21, decided to leave the stage. He tried to become a journalist. He wrote essays, funny stories, and short stories. But most of them were rejected. For the next few years, he worked as a school teacher, a packer, and a clerk for a lawyer.
Finally, in 1885, he found some success. He published On the Stage – and Off (1885). This was a funny memoir about his acting experiences. Then came Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886). This was a collection of humorous essays. These essays had first appeared in a new magazine called Home Chimes. This same magazine would later publish Three Men in a Boat in parts.
On June 21, 1888, Jerome married Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley Marris, also known as "Ettie." She had a daughter named Elsie from her first marriage. Jerome and Ettie spent their honeymoon on the River Thames "in a little boat." This trip greatly influenced his next and most important book, Three Men in a Boat.
Three Men in a Boat and Later Works
Jerome started writing Three Men in a Boat right after his honeymoon. In the story, his wife was replaced by his friends George Wingrave (George) and Carl Hentschel (Harris). This allowed him to create funny situations. These moments were also connected to the history of the Thames River area.
The book was published in 1889 and became an instant hit. It has been in print ever since. Its popularity was so great that the number of registered boats on the Thames went up by 50% the year after it was published. The book also helped make the Thames a popular tourist spot. In its first 20 years, over a million copies were sold worldwide. It has been made into films, TV shows, radio plays, stage plays, and even a musical. Its funny writing style has influenced many humorists and satirists.
With the money from the book's sales, Jerome could focus on writing full-time. He wrote many plays, essays, and novels. However, he never achieved the same level of success as Three Men in a Boat. In 1892, Robert Barr chose him to edit The Idler magazine. This was an illustrated, funny monthly magazine for gentlemen. In 1893, he started To-Day magazine. But he had to leave both publications because of money problems and a libel lawsuit.
Jerome's play Biarritz ran for two months in London in 1896.
In 1898, a short trip to Germany inspired Three Men on the Bummel. This was the sequel to Three Men in a Boat. It featured the same characters on a bicycle tour in a foreign country. However, this book didn't quite capture the same funny energy as its famous predecessor. It lacked the central theme of the Thames River. Because of this, it had only modest success. Still, some of the funny parts in "Bummel" are as good as those in "Boat."
In 1902, he published the novel Paul Kelver. Many people believe this book tells parts of his own life story. His 1908 play, The Passing of the Third Floor Back, showed a more serious and religious side of Jerome. A leading actor, Johnston Forbes-Robertson, played the main character. The play was a huge commercial success. It was made into a film twice, in 1918 and in 1935. However, critics did not like the play.
Later Years and Legacy
When World War I started, Jerome, then 55, volunteered to serve his country. But the British Army rejected him because of his age. Eager to help, he volunteered as an ambulance driver for the French Army.
In 1926, Jerome published his autobiography, My Life and Times. Soon after, his hometown of Walsall gave him the title Freeman of the Borough. In his last years, Jerome spent more time at his farmhouse near Ewelme.
Jerome had a stroke and a brain hemorrhage in June 1927. This happened during a car trip from Devon to London. He stayed in Northampton General Hospital for two weeks before he died on June 14. He was cremated, and his ashes were buried at St Mary's Church in Ewelme, Oxfordshire. His gravestone reads, "For we are labourers together with God."
A small museum about his life and works opened in 1984 at his birth home in Walsall. However, it closed in 2008, and the items were returned to Walsall Museum.
Jerome's Legacy and Influence
- Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl, a book by "Jenny Wren," was published in 1891. It was similar to Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow but written from a woman's point of view.
- Science fiction author Connie Willis got the title for her novel To Say Nothing of the Dog from the subtitle of Three Men in a Boat.
- There is a French graphic novel series named Jérôme K. Jérôme Bloche after him.
- From 1984 to 2008, there was a museum honoring him in Walsall, his birthplace.
- A sculpture of a boat and a mosaic of a dog remember his book Three Men in a Boat. They are on the Millennium Green in New Southgate, London, where he lived as a child.
- An English Heritage blue plaque is on a building where he lived in London. It says, "Jerome K. Jerome 1859–1927 Author Wrote 'Three Men in a Boat' while living here at flat 104."
- A beer company in Argentina, Cerveza Jerome, is named after him. Its founder was a big fan of Three Men in a Boat.
- A building at Walsall Campus, University of Wolverhampton, is named after him.
- British Rail named one of its Class 31 diesel trains after him in 1990.
See also
In Spanish: Jerome K. Jerome para niños
- List of ambulance drivers during World War I
- List of people with reduplicated names
