Paperback with 88 Pages of Additional Content (Summaries, Critical Notes, Glossary, Exercises, and more)
Three Men in a Boat of the
Ratna Sagar Classics Series
is an enriched edition that any keen reader of literature will be pleased to have. The book includes:
a.
Brief, well-written
Introductio
n to the novel
b. Annotations
that are comprehensive, covering not only the
meanings of words and phrases
peculiar to the period in which the book was written, but explaining any concept or historical event that may not be easily understood or recalled
c. Summary
at the end of each chapter that is concise yet sufficiently detailed to provide a faithful reproduction of that part of the story
d. Critical notes
at the end of each chapter that present an analysis of the chapter so that the reader can identify the nuances, allusions, and underlying meanings, and therefore appreciate the story better
e. General notes
at the end of the book that present an overview of the book, contexting it in the period in which it was written, and discuss the major themes, characters, or the genre of the book
f. Artwork
that bring to life certain episodes in the story
Suggestions for further reading
and
website links
that the reader will find informative and helpful
Three Men in a Boat is a humorous story of three men and a dog who undertake a boating trip on the Thames. Jerome K Jerome based the characters of the three men on himself and his two friends, George Wingrave (George) and Carl Hentschel (Harris). However, the dog Montmorency is fictional, whose antics add substantially to the humour in the story. When the book was first published, it was not liked by critics, who considered the writing flippant. The book professed no wish to improve the reader's mind, intent merely on sharing the excitement and fun of a boating holiday. Unlike the other writers of his period, Jerome used colloquial language to portray the tone of exuberance and fun. In both content and language, therefore, it was a complete contrast to the kind of books that were written at that time. However, the general public liked the book for precisely this very reason, as it brought a whiff of fresh air to staid Victorian manners and society. At a time when hard work and earnest endeavour were lauded, and the country prided itself on its commercial and political progress, the story of three young men doing nothing more than boating down the Thames was a refreshing change.
The book was an instant bestseller and was reprinted many times, so much so that its publisher, J W Arrowsmith, wondered whether the public was eating the copies! The book has stood the test of time and continues to amuse readers even today. The humour in the book is based on a fine insight into human nature, exposing pretensions to refinement and knowledge in a lighthearted way. The book has been adapted to almost every conceivable medium - television, films, musicals, radio, and even audio tapes.