Audiobook · read by volunteers
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927)
Read by Geetu Melwani, Betsie Bush, Jim Mullins, Linton, Brooks Seveer, Cori Samuel, Chip, Chris Hughes, Marlo Dianne, Jim Mowatt · 19 chapters · 6 h 38
About the book
Three young friends, J., George and Harris, along with Montmorency the dog, are tired and run down, and decide that what they need is a holiday on the river. So they pack up a boat and set out from Kingston upon the Thames, bound for Oxford. What follows is a series of gloriously disastrous episodes: tangled tow lines, a tin of pineapple with no opener, a maze at Hampton Court, battles with the weather, and endless comic digressions about everything from old inns to the habits of the English. Jerome K. Jerome meant to write a guide to the river, but his sense of the absurd took over, and the result is one of the funniest books in the language. Nineteen chapters and nearly seven hours of affectionate comedy are waiting on the water.
Introduction
Jerome K. Jerome was born in 1859 and died in 1927. An English writer and humorist, he spent his early years in modest jobs before turning to journalism and fiction. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) appeared in 1889 and brought him lasting fame.
The book began as something quite different. It was intended to be a serious travel guide to the Thames, with historical accounts of the places along the route, and some of that material remains. But the comic elements gradually took over, to the point where the more serious and sentimental passages now seem a little like a distraction from an essentially comic novel. This unevenness is part of its charm, and the digressions are often as funny as the main story. The book was a great success with the growing class of clerks and office workers who spent their holidays on the river, and it has been in print ever since.
The recording was made by LibriVox volunteers and is divided into the nineteen chapters of the original. It lasts about six and a half hours and can be listened to in short sessions.
Why listen now? Because the humour has aged remarkably well. The three friends are recognisable types, the mishaps are timeless, and there is something very pleasing in hearing a Victorian comic voice that is so relaxed. It is a book to cheer a rainy day.
Public domain
Jerome K. Jerome died in 1927: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text