When an author's name is Jerome K. Jerome, you know you are in for something special and this book does not disappoint you. Originally conceived as a guide to the River Thames, Three Men in a Boat, is the funniest, maddest book you are ever likely to find, about something as simple as idling down a river. The book ranges far and wide beyond the scope of either a travel guide or a memoir. It is full of little anecdotes about such things as barometers and hypochondria. It makes mention of the pleasures and perils of having your boat towed by girls. It explains the dangers posed by swans and the trauma caused by tinned pineapple. Whilst the language is from a bygone age, the book is never stuffy or boring. The humour is as fresh today as it was when Queen Victoria was on the throne. This book is so funny that I had to stop reading it on the London Underground where laughter and frivolity are frowned upon.
