Special thanks to @__Carrots__ and @ProudRavenpuffTeen for recommending Jerome K. Jerome!
❝I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.❞
-- Jerome K. Jerome
English playwright and novelist Jerome Klapka Jerome was best known for his humor gain quite a following. He was born on May 2, 1859, in Staffordshire, England. His mother and father died at an early age while Jerome was fourteen years old; he left school and started working as a railway clerk. Later on he had many jobs ranging from schoolteacher, an actor, and a journalist.
On the Stage -- and Off was his first published book in 1885. It wasn't until 1886 and 1889 when his most popular novels, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Follow and Three Men in a Boat, had gain him immediate success. In between those books, he married his wife, Georgina in 1888; for their honeymoon they went rowing on the Thames. Their trip inspired him to write Three Men in a Boat.
He soon became the co-editor (with Robert Barr and George Brown Burgin) of a monthly magazine called The Idler during 1892 and 1897. When World War I broke out in 1914, Jerome K. Jerome wanted to help. Because he was older, he devoted time to drive an ambulance for the French throughout the war. The year before he died, he wrote an autobiography, My Life and Times.
Discussion Questions:
Jerome was known for his humor, what elements are necessary to deliver wit and humor? The pacing? Characters? Their dialogue? Descriptions?
Do you believe that Jerome's humor is funny to a modern audience? Why or why not?
Which one of his novels resonated with you? And why? P.S. Which quote / sentence did you enjoy the most?
Always open to additional questions and comments on about Jerome K. Jerome and his works.
If there is another author you would like to see a discussion on, please post your suggestion in the comments below for a chance to be featured in a future chapter!
Resources:
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