Jerome K. Jerome (2 May, 1859 – 14 June, 1927) was an English writer best known for his delightful travelogue Three Men in a Boat.
Fun Facts about Jerome K. Jerome:
- Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in Walsall, England. He was the fourth sibling to Marguerite Jones and Jerome Clapp. The baby was registered as Jerome Clapp Jerome, a name his father also changed.
- Later, the boy changed his middle name to Klapka in honor of György Klapka, a Hungarian general.
- The family fell into dire straits. When writing his 1926 biography, My Life and Times, the author clearly recounted on the visits of debt collectors.
- At first, Jerome K. Jerome wanted to get into politics, however, his mother died when he was 15 years old, two years after his father passed away. The young man was forced to stop his schooling and go to work.
- For four years, he worked on the railroads until deciding to try his luck in acting. He joined a theatre troupe that produced plays with scarcely any money. After three years on the road, still penniless, he decided it was time to move on and try another occupation.
- Still in love with writing, he tried his hand in journalism, publishing essays, comedies, and short stories – most of which were rejected. In 1885, he had his first success with a comic memoir of his time as an actor called On the Stage — and Off.
- Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley Marris married Jerome K. Jerome 9 days after she got devices. Ettie and Jerome honeymooned on the River Thames in a small boat. This event influenced the book he is most remembered for today, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
- The book was a great success and allowed Mr. Jerome to write full-time. He wrote plays, essays, fiction and non-fiction works but was never able to duplicate the success of Three Men in a Boat.
- When the First World War began, Jerome K. Jerome volunteered his services to the British Army but was rejected due to his age (55). Nevertheless and wanting to contribute, he served as a volunteer ambulance driver in the French Army.
- In 1927, Jerome K. Jerome suffered a stroke and died two weeks later in Northampton General Hospital. He was cremated and buried at St Mary’s Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire
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Sources:
Jerome K. Jerome: English writer | Britannica
Jerome The Man | The Jerome K. Jerome Society
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Fun Facts Friday: Jerome K. Jerome
DescriptionJerome K. Jerome (2 May, 1859 – 14 June, 1927) was an English writer best known for his delightful travelogue Three Men in a Boat
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