Three Men Series by Jerome K. Jerome, Jeremy Lewis

Jerome K. Jerome was born in Staffordshire i n 1859. He left school at fourteen and, after a succession o f jobs, took up writing as a profession. Three Men in a Boat is his most famous work. '

"A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end."However delightful this may appear, it is sometimes necessary to arrive back at the point from which one started. And for the three intrepid friends - whose earlier exploits are recounted in the immortal "Three Men in a Boat" - this does pose something of a problem.But having decided on a cycling trip through the Black Forest, George, Harris and J. set out undeterred on a tandem plus one... more"A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end."However delightful this may appear, it is sometimes necessary to arrive back at the point from which one started. And for the three intrepid friends - whose earlier exploits are recounted in the immortal "Three Men in a Boat" - this does pose something of a problem.But having decided on a cycling trip through the Black Forest, George, Harris and J. set out undeterred on a tandem plus one. Whether it is George's valiant attempt to buy a cushion for his aunt, or Harris's harrowing experience with a Hanoverian road-waterer, their experiences are far from dull - and they may even offer salutary lessons to all those contemplating a cycling holiday on the Continent. less

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a 'T'. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks - not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.'s small fox-terrier Montmorency... moreMartyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a 'T'. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks - not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.'s small fox-terrier Montmorency. Three Men in a Boat was an instant success when it appeared in 1889, and proved so popular that Jerome reunited his now older - but not necessarily wiser - heroes in Three Men on the Bummel, for a picaresque bicycle tour of Germany. With their benign escapism, authorial discursions and wonderful evocation of the late-Victorian 'clerking classes', both novels hilariously capture the spirit of their age. less