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1859-1927
Novelist, essayist, humourist and playwright born was born at Belsize House on the corner of Bradford Street and Caldmore Road in Walsall, Staffordshire. His father, Jerome Clapp Jerome, an architect by profession, had married Marguerite Jones, the daughter of a Swansea solicitor. Their son's middle name was derived from George Klapka, an Hungarian exile and friend of the family. J.C. Jerome was renowned as a Non-conformist preacher and was Deacon at Bridge Street Congregational Church in Walsall. The family moved to Poplar, London, and Jerome senior set up an ironmongery.
On leaving school at the age of fourteen, Jerome Klapka Jerome started out as a clerk at Euston Railway Station. He became an actor, but also tried his hand at teaching and journalism, his early humorous pieces becoming quite popular. His first books to be published were On the stage and off (1885) and Idle thoughts of an idle fellow (1886). Three years later his most famous work came with the story of a rowing holiday on the River Thames, Three men in a boat. From 1892 he edited and contributed to magazines such as The idler and a weekly magazine called To-day, but he was forced to sell his interests in 1897 following an expensive libel action. He now concentrated on the theatre and one of his best plays, modelled on J.M. Barrie, is The passing of the third floor back (1907).
On 17 February 1927 Jerome K. Jerome returned to the place of his birth to be conferred with the honour of Freeman of the Borough of Walsall. A tablet was unveiled at Belsize House in the early afternoon, followed by the presentation of the honour at the Town Hall at 4 p.m and a grand dinner in the evening. Jerome said:-
"This Freedom of the Borough, it is the people's knighthood. I take it you have conferred upon me the Knighthood of Walsall, and I shall always be proud of my spurs".
In a letter to the Mayor, following his visit, he showed just how touched he had been by the reception he had received and said "you gave me the freedom of your hearts." He died a few months later following a stroke.
The following works are available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection:-
Diary of a pilgrimage
Idle thoughts of an idle fellow (1889)
John Ingerfield and other stories (1894)
My life and times (1926)
Novel notes (1893)
Observations of Henry (1901)
Other Jerome K Jerome
The passing of the third floor back (1907)
The second thoughts of an idle fellow (1898)
Tea-table talk
Three men in a boat (1889)
Three men in an omnibus
Three men on the bummel (1900)
Tommy and co.
You may read here an extract from Three men in a boat and an extract from Idle thoughts of an idle fellow. The first tells of the difficulties when Uncle Podger tries to put up a picture. In the second, entitled On memory, the author humourously shows that memory is not all it seems:-
"Oh, give me back the good old days of fifty years ago," has been the cry ever since Adam's fifty-first birthday.
The Project Gutenberg website has a large selection of digitised texts available for downloading.
The following titles are available as Microsoft® Reader books from Blackmask Online
The following work is available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection:-
Jerome K Jerome: a critical biography (1982) by Joseph Connolly
Visit the Jerome K. Jerome Society website for information on the society, the man, the works and the museum.
The Jerome K. Jerome Museum is located in two ground floor rooms in Belsize House, Bradford Street, Walsall. It has a considerable collection of photographs, books, letters and personal items connected with the author. It is open weekdays and Saturday mornings and there is no charge for admission.
Page created 9 January 2000 and last updated 28 October 2002
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