The book's original purpose was intended to be a travelogue that author as narrator describes while passing through various landmarks, villages and historical places. However, author frequently digresses into humorous anecdotes. The most frequent topics of anecdotes are river pastimes such as fishing and boating and the difficulties they present to the three men on previous boating trips.
Jerome K Jerome was an English novelist and playwright. On the Stage—and Off was his first book which was published in 1885. However, it was with the publication of his next books namely The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow and Three Men in a Boat that he achieved his great literary success. Both of these books have been widely translated into various languages in the world. Jerome’s other works include Three Men on the Bummel and Paul Kelver), an autobiographical novel. He also wrote a number of plays. A book of Jerome’s memoirs, My Life and Times, was published in 1926. As a novelist and playwright, Jerome won a wide following with his warm, unsatirical, and unintellectual brand of humor.