Three Men in a Boat was written by Jerome K. Jerome and first published in 1889. The erratic progress of J. Harris, George and Montmorency the dog won immediate approval of Londoners, while readers all over the world saw THREE MEN IN A BOAT as a key to the British character. The project, which began as an attempt to promote pleasure boating, became one of the greatest comedy turns of Victorian literature, a timeless classic to be read again and again. "One of the happiest examples of how serendipity can transform humdrum into pure delight.