Klapka, Jerome Jerome was a well-known English humorist, author, and playwright, best known for his comedic classic “Three Men on a Boat.” When his coalmine was flooded, his father, a nonconformist preacher and mine owner, lost everything he owned. As a result, Jerome lived his early years in East London in extreme poverty. When he lost his father at the age of thirteen and his mother at the age of fifteen, his situation became even worse. He never lost hope while living alone in London’s seedy areas and working as a clerk, and at the age of nineteen, he joined a theater troupe, returning to London impoverished after three years. Following that, he began writing essays, short tales, and satires while working in various roles; his first success came with ‘On the Stage—and Off,’ which, after a series of rejections, began to be published in a journal edited by a retired actor, Aylmer Gowing. He is most known for his comedic travelogue ‘Three Man in a Boat,’ which depicts a two-week boating vacation on the Thames. The book has never been out of print since it was first published.
Early Years & Childhood
Klapka, Jerome Jerome was born on May 2, 1859, in Caldmore, Staffordshire, which is now part of the industrial town of Walsall. He was born Jerome Clapp Jerome, but his name was later changed to Klapka in honor of György Klapka, an exiled Hungarian general and family friend.
Jerome Clapp, his father, was a nonconformist preacher who also owned a coalmine on Cannock Chase. He had previously dabbled in farming and stone quarrying in Devonshire.
Marguerite Jones, Jerome’s mother, was the daughter of a wealthy Swansea solicitor. Her dowry was substantial, and his father had invested it in the coal mine. Despite numerous failures in her family’s fortune, she never lost faith because she came from a heroic Welsh nonconformist family.
Belsize House, on the junction of Bradford Street and Caldmore Road, was the birthplace of Jerome Jr. He was the fourth child of his parents, with two older sisters, Paulina Deodata and Blandina Dominica, and one older brother, Milton Melanchthon, who died when he was six years old.
Initially, they were in a good position. On Jerome’s first birthday, however, his father gently awoke his mother to inform her that his coalmine had been flooded, and he was now a bankrupt man with only a few hundred pounds left.
He transferred his family to a smaller residence in Stourbridge and came to London alone in 1861. He established a wholesale ironmongering firm there, which did not do as well as he had hoped. As a result, while living on 5 shillings a week, he did not call for his family.
When Jerome’s mother learned of his father’s illness when he was four years old, she relocated her family to London. They found a little cottage on Sussex Street in Poplar, East London, and made it their home.
Jerome grew raised in Poplar surrounded by the lower classes, who despised him for his gentlemanly upbringing and tried to bully him. Indeed, the atmosphere there was anything but pleasant, and Jerome attributed his brooding and sad demeanor to it in his biography.
Jerome was admitted to the Philological School, which later became known as Marylebone Grammar School, in January 1869, possibly just before his eleventh birthday. Although he aspired to be a famous politician or a man of books, his father’s death in 1872 put an end to his ambitions.
Early on the career
According to his mother’s diary, Jerome K Jerome started working for the London and North Western Railway on January 12, 1874, when he was fourteen years old. His initial duty after arriving at Euston Station was to collect coals that had fallen along the railway, but he was quickly promoted to the position of clerk.
In the middle of 1875, his mother passed away. Jerome entered the worst stage of his life after his sisters had left home and he was living alone in squalid flats in London while working as a clerk. Despite this, he never gave up hope.
He recently joined an amateur theatrical group and has been playing in minor roles in his leisure time. Finally, in 1877, he quit his work to join a repertory company that put on plays on a minimal budget, with the actors buying their own clothes and props.
He stayed with the ensemble for three years, possibly due to the thrill of traveling. He played several parts while sleeping in dressing closets or church porches, doubling or even trebling roles. He had to look at his costumes from time to time to remind himself whose character he was playing.
He finally had enough of acting at the age of 21 and returned to London, absolutely bankrupt. After a period of sleeping in dosshouses, he was spotted by an old buddy, who was able to secure him a brief journalistic position that required him to cover police stations and coroners.
He then became a schoolmaster at Clapham, but this, too, was a short-lived position. Following that, he worked for an illiterate builder, as a packer for a commission agent, and as a parliamentary agent, among other things. He eventually worked as a solicitor’s clerk.
He had the vague aim of being trained for a career in law when he joined the solicitor’s office. Simultaneously, he began composing essays, short stories, and satires, which he submitted to various publications. Despite the fact that the majority of his creations were first rejected, he never gave up.
A Career in Literature
Inspired by Longfellow’s poetry from ‘By the Fireside,’ Jerome produced a series of comedy sketches about his experiences as an actor, which became his first success. Originally published in the journal ‘The Play,’ they were gathered and published as ‘On the Stage—and Off’ in 1885.
‘Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,’ his third book, was a collection of amusing writings that had previously appeared in Home Chimes. It was published in book form in 1886, and it cemented his reputation as a writer. He named the book after his tobacco pipe, whom he considered a buddy and companion.
By 1888, he was well-established enough to marry and spend his honeymoon on the Thames in a small boat. Upon his return, he wrote his most renowned composition, “Three Men in a Boat.” It was serialized in Home Chimes before being published as a book in August 1889.
The book did not earn positive reviews from critics. While some were ambivalent, others were outright hostile, seeing the book as only appropriate for working-class Londoners known as ‘Arrys and ‘Arriets’ (Harrys and Harriets). Jerome ‘Arry K. ‘Arry’ was given the moniker ‘Arry’ by Punch magazine.
‘Three Men in a Boat’ sold so many copies despite the negative reviews that the publisher reportedly joked, “I often think the audience must eat them.” He was financially comfortable as a result of the transaction, and he could now dedicate all of his time to writing.
Jerome continued to write, producing a number of plays, essays, and novels. Despite the fact that his works were not as well-known as ‘Three Men in a Boat,’ he remained at the heart of London’s literary world, which included luminaries such as Eden Phillpotts, J.M. Barrie, Rider Haggard, H.G.Wells, Conan Doyle, W.W. Jacobs, Hall Caine, Thomas Hardy, Israel Zangwill, and Rudyard Kipling.
Jerome K. Jerome was named co-editor of ‘The Idler’ in 1892, with its founder Robert Barr. He later became its editor in 1895, a position he held until 1898. Meanwhile, he launched Today, a weekly journal, in 1893, but lost his interest in 1898 due to high costs and a libel suit.
In 1898, he embarked on a tour through Germany, which he documented with the poem ‘Three Men on the Bummel.’ It was released in 1900 and is also known as ‘Three Men on Wheels.’ The book is a sequel to ‘Three Men on a Boat,’ and it describes his bicycling adventure through the Black Forest.
“Three Men on the Bummel” was well-received by domestic readers and quickly became a hit in Germany. He relocated his family to Dresden in 1900, where he stayed for two years. In the same year, he wrote his first autobiographical novel, ‘Paul Kelver.’
Following the First World War
Jerome enjoyed traveling and visited countries such as Russia and Norway, as well as going on a lecture tour to the United States in 1907. His favorite trip destination, though, remained Germany. As a result, he was taken aback by the First World War. He volunteered for war service despite the fact that he was 57 years old.
He joined the French Army as a frontline ambulance driver after being rejected by the British due to his age. When he returned, he was a new man, and his experience as a wartime ambulance driver was later depicted in the book ‘All Roads Lead to Calvary.’ It was one of his final works, published in 1919.
His autobiography, ‘My Life and Times,’ was released in 1926. Despite the lack of home details and a lack of chronology, the book provides insight into his nature. It’s also one of his more enjoyable works.
His Major Projects
Jerome’s best-known work is ‘Three Men on a Boat (To Say Nothing of Dog),’ which he published in 1889. The book recounts a two-week sailing vacation on the River Thames, beginning in Kingston upon Thames and ending in Oxford.
Despite the fact that it was written shortly after his honeymoon on the Thames, it contains no mention of his wife, instead focusing on his two real-life friends, George Wingrave (George) and Carl Hentschel (Harris), with whom he frequently went on boating expeditions. The dog, on the other hand, is a completely made-up figure.
He added the history of the places en route, intending it to be a professional trip guide. However, the book’s comedic components were so prominent that many readers found the serious content distracting. The book has never gone out of print and remains as popular as ever.
Achievements & Awards
Jerome was named a Freeman of the Borough of Walsall on February 17, 1927. In response to the congratulations, he stated, “This is the people’s knighthood, the Freedom of the Borough. I assume you have bestowed the Knighthood of Walsall onto me, and I will always be proud of my spurs.”
Personal History and Legacy
Jerome K. Jerome married Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley Marris in June 1888. She was the daughter of a Spanish soldier, and her nickname was Ettie. She was married with a five-year-old daughter named Elsie at the time of their encounter.
Jerome adored her stepdaughter and was heartbroken when she passed away in 1921. Rowena was their second child. She was born in 1898 and outlived both of her parents.
He spent more time in his farmhouse, Gould’s Grove, southeast of Ewelme near Wallingford, toward the end of his life. They did, however, have a residence in London.
Jerome and Georgia were returning to London from an automobile tour in Devon at the end of May or the beginning of June 1927. They were passing via Cheltenham and Northampton on their way home. Jerome suffered a paralytic stroke and a brain haemorrhage while on the way.
He was sent to Northampton General Hospital, where he spent two weeks, unable to move or talk, before passing away on June 14, 1927. His ashes were buried at St. Mary’s Church in Ewelme after he was cremated at Golders Green.
In 1984, Belsize House, his birth home in Walsall, erected a tiny museum dedicated to his work. It was, however, shut down in 2008. The contents of the box are presently on display at the Walsall Museum.’Three Men in a Boat,’ a sculpture of a boat and a mosaic of a dog, have been constructed on the Millennium Green near his childhood home in New Southgate, London, to honor his best work.
At 104 Chelsea Gardens, Chelsea Bridge Road, a Heritage blue plaque was installed in 1989. It claims that while residing here, Jerome K. Jerome authored ‘Three Men on a Boat.’
Estimated Net Worth
Check out Jerome K Jerome’s net worth in 2020. contains the most recent information on Jerome K Jerome’s automobiles, income, salary, and lifestyle. Jerome K Jerome’s estimated net worth is $ USD 3 million, according to online sources (Wikipedia, Google Search, Yahoo Search).
His primary sources of income are novelist, writer, journalist, playwright, autobiographer, and comedian. We don’t have enough information about Jerome K Jerome’s cars or lifestyle. These details will be updated as soon as possible.