In his free moments Jerome tried to write. He wrote plays, stories and articles. But nothing was published.
His first literary success was a one-act comedy which was performed in the Globe Theatre in 1886 and ran there for some time. In 1889 a collection of his articles and short stories about theatre life was published. At the same time Jerome began to publish some of his articles which later made up a book under the title “The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow”. This book became very popular in England.
In the same year, Jerome’s best book “Three Men in a Boat” also came out.
“The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow” and “Three Men in a Boat” made the author famous. The books were translated into several European languages.
In the following years Jerome produced several books and plays. He went travelling all over Europe and in 1899 he visited Petersburg where he was met with enthusiasm. He knew well Russian literature. Jerome K. Jerome also tried to write serious books but the readers did not like them. Several times Jerome expressed his anticolonial views on the policy of Britain in China and other countries of the East. He also criticized German imperialism. Jerome’s last book was his autobiography “My Life and Time”. He died in 1927.
Vocabulary
“The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow” — “Досужие мысли досужего человека”
Petersburg — Петербург
enthusiasm — энтузиазм
China — Китай
to criticise — критиковать
autobiography — автобиография
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