Product Description

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a ‘T’. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks – not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.’s small fox-terrier Montmorency. Three Men in a Boat was an instant success when it appeared in 1889, and, with its benign escapism, authorial discursions and wonderful evocation of the late-Victorian ‘clerking classes’, it hilariously captured the spirit of its age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5231 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

The funniest ever in English!
I first picked this up at age of about 11, from the bookshelf in a guesthouse where I was staying for a few nights with my parents. I was in a room by myself, and apart from a couple of shouted requests to shut up, was left to hold my sides and laugh as quietly as possible.

I'm now 52, and have a wonderful original copy which I have read time and again, and still get requests from my fiancee to shut up and stop laughing.

It doesn't matter how many times you read it. This is quite simply the funniest book ever written in the English language. Yes, it's based in an age long gone; but it's great to know that self-effacing, typical British humour hasn't changed one iota.

Any Englishman who hasn't read this is the poorer for it!

The Funniest Book Ever Written
I first came across this in the school library when I was 12 (35 years ago!) I have read it and re-read it again and again. In a desert-island-disks type moment I chose it as one of my quintessentially English books to take with me when I went to live in the USA for a year. I cannot read it in public - or in the presence of my wife due to the unstoppable sniggering that it induces in me (and the rolling eyes this induces in her!). I love the 'Maze' scene and am laughing now just thinking about it. The hypochondria opening is a classic moment too (Housemaid's knee!)

Please read it - yes it's Victorian humour, but it's STILL funny today.

I was devastated when I found it was number 101 in BBC's 'Good Read' 100 favourite books ever list a couple of years ago - Shame on the BBC!

Absolutely Timeless
It seems that human nature hasn't changed much since Victorian times! This collection of anecdotes, observations and witticisms is a true classic, completely unaffected by the passage of time. The author's understated, self-deprecating style of humour had me roaring with laughter virtually from the first page, and even now - a week after finishing it - I still find myself chuckling at odd moments when I remember certain turns of phrase.

I was put off reading it for a long time because for some reason I had got it into my head that it was a rather heavy-going political satire. I don't know where I got that idea from, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a gentle, easy read. Not much plot to speak of - just the tale of three friends (and a dog) taking a boating trip up the Thames. Full of mishaps, humourous reminiscences and spot-on comments about the ridiculousness of human behaviour, it makes ideal back-garden reading for the summer.

Highly recommended. If you've never read a classic and want an easy one to start with - this is it!