Literary Career

• Jerome tasted his first success, when inspired by Longfellow’s poems from ‘By the Fireside', he wrote a series of comic sketches on his experiences as an actor. Initially published in a journal called ‘The Play’, they were collected in a book form in 1885 and published as ‘On the Stage—and Off’.
• His next book, ‘Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow’, was also a collection of humorous essays previously published in Home Chimes. Published in book form in 1886, it established him as a writer. He dedicated the book to his tobacco pipe, his friend and companion.
• By 1888, he was sufficiently established to be able to get married and spend his honeymoon in a little boat on Thames. On his return, he wrote ‘Three Men in a Boat’, his most famous work. Initially serialized in Home Chimes, it was published in book form in August 1889.
• The book was not well received by the critics. While some were lukewarm, others were downright hostile, finding the book suitable only for working class Londoners, whom they called 'Arrys and 'Arriets’ (Harrys and Harriets). Punch magazine went one step further, calling Jerome 'Arry K. 'Arry’.
• In spite of bad reviews, ‘Three Men in a Boat’ sold in such a huge number that the publisher famously quipped, “I often think the public must eat them”. The royalty he received from the sale made him financially secure and he could now devote his time entirely to writing.
• Continuing to write, Jerome produced number of plays, essays and novels. Although they were not as popular as ‘Three Men in a Boat’, he remained established in the centre of London’s literally world, which included luminaries like Eden Phillpotts, J.M. Barrie, Rider Haggard, H.G.Wells, Conan Doyle, W.W.Jacobs, Hall Caine, Thomas Hardy, Israel Zangwill and Rudyard Kipling.
• In 1892, Jerome K. Jerome was appointed co-editor of ‘The Idler’ with its founder Robert Barr. Later in 1895, he became its editor, a position he held until 1898. Meanwhile in 1893, he founded a weekly journal, Today; but due to enormous cost and a libel suit, he sold his interest in 1898.
• In 1898, he went on a tour of Germany, later writing ‘Three Men on the Bummel’ on it. Also known as ‘Three Men on Wheels’, it was published in 1900. A sequel to ‘Three Men in a Boat’, the book describes his journey on the bicycle through the Black Forest.
• ”Three Men on the Bummel’ was more or less well-received by readers at home and became very popular in Germany. In 1900, he moved his family to Dresden, where he lived for two years. In the same year, he had his first autobiographical novel entitled, ‘Paul Kelver’ published.