Biography?

[astra44]

New member here.

Relatively new to Jerome K. Jerome's works, although growing up in England I was always familiar with his name.  Somehow until a year or so back, I missed ever actually reading him!  

I was wondering if there is a particularly good biography available that anybody would care to recommend?

Mark, Los Angeles.

P.S. Apologies if this subject has already been addressed elsewhere on this site.

[jesthepres]

Hi Mark,

There is only one biography of Jerome worth reading and that, sadly, is out of print. Joseph Connolly's Jerome K Jerome - A Critical Biography was published in 1982 by Orbis Publishing. You may be able to find a copy on abebooks.com or similar. (And while I'm about it, can I point you - and everyone else - in the direction of Mr Connolly's novels beginning with Stuff and ending with his current malevolent barnstorming black comedy of manners Love Is Strange; the man's a genius.)
Alternatively, you could track down the infinitely less readable Jerome K Jerome - His Life and Work by Alfred Moss (Selwyn & Blount, 1928) or - a real treat - Jerome's autobiography My Life and Times (various editions).
Best wishes,
Jeremy Nicholas

[astra44]

Thanks for the information, Jeremy.  I found a copy of Connolly's book  listed for sale at $90 which is a little too rich for my blood.  I will keep a lookout on eBay!

[Frank]

Hi, Mark!

Forget eBay.  Go to www.abebooks.com
There are two British dealers listing Connolly's biographyat $35, and one Australian showing it at under $30.  Be aware, however, that it is no way a critical biography, despite its subtitle.  It is well written.  But most of it is just a rehash of Jerome's own memoirs "My Life and Times."  When Connolly ventures into his own research, he is often in error.  For example, I wrote a detailed article some years ago about Jerome's travels in America.  Jerome himself states that he made three visits to America.  Connolly manages to convert them into four visits, and gets the dates of all of them wrong.  Despite that kind of thing, his book is still worth reading.  But, if you don't have Jerome's "My Life and Times," you should get that, too - also readily available on www.abebooks.com

[cliffy]

Ruth Faurot's biography is worth looking at: Abebooks will find it for you eventually, if all the existing copies aren't secreted away in collections by now!

Cliff

[Frank]

I have been looking at Abebooks for years, and have never seen Ruth Faurot's book posted there.  It is a very good survey of Jerome's work.
The reason it is hard to find is that it was published in Twayne's
Engllish Authors Series.  These books were published mainly for libraries, many of whom had standing orders for the complete series (thus putting the publisher in the enviable position of knowing how large an edition to publish so as not to have stock left on his hands).  And they were not usually stocked by bookstores.