Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

`Otherworksmayexcelthisindepthofthoughtandknowledgeofhumannature:otherbooksmayrivalitinoriginalityandsize;but,forhopelessandincurablevivacity,nothingyetdiscoveredcansurpassit.'(Jerome,PrefacetoThreeMeninaBoat).ThreeMeninaBoatdescribesacomicexpeditionbymiddle-classVictoriansuptheThamestoOxford.Itprovidesbrilliantsnap-shotsofLondon'splaygroundinthelate1880s,wherethefashionablesteam-launchesofriverswellsencounterthehiredskiffsofcityclerks.Themedleyofsocialvignettes,farcicalincidents,descriptionsofriverfashions,andreflectionsontheThames'shistory,isinterspersedwithhumorousanecdotestoldbyanaturalraconteur.ThreeMenontheBummelrecordsasimilarescapade,abreakfromtheclaustrophobiaofsuburbanlifesometenyearslater;theircyclingtourintheBlackForest,attheheightofthenewbicyclingcraze,affordsJerometheopportunityforalight-heartedscrutinyofGermansocialcustomsatatimeofincreasinggeneralinterestinacountrythatheloved.Thisaccountofmiddle-agedEnglishmenabroadisspicedwithtypicalJeromianhumour.