The Passing Of The Third Floor Back (1907) by Jerome K. Jerome is a gem that introduced me to a new author.
He is best known for his 1889 comic travelogue Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing Of The Dog), in which three friends embark on a boating holiday up the Thames. An overwhelming success, the combination of humour and local colour caused a surge in boat rentals, as its route is fairly easy to recreate. Undated, the jokes seem fresh and witty today, and the novel has not been out of publication (in many languages) since 1889. Three Men has been filmed six times and Jerome wrote a sequel (Three Men On Wheels), continuing its influence on popular culture.
But that is another story.
The Passing Of The Third Floor Back is a collection of six sentimental and philosophical stories, starting with the captivating title story - the tale of a stranger arriving in London seeking lodging. He finds Mrs. Pennycherry on Bloomsbury Square who offers a room at the back, with breakfast. His presence has a strange effect on everyone he encounters, finding themselves relaxing their unconscious motives and dropping their social facades. Penny-pinching Mrs. Pennycherry; the Colonel who jokingly ridicules his wife; the highly coloured Miss Kate afraid of losing her beauty; and Emily - cousin to Sir William the Baronet, no less - all begin to drop their guard to reveal their authentic, better selves under his caring gaze, his understanding and calm attention. This was entirely enchanting, an allegory that has been typed as religious, but the beauty is it can be read on a wide spectrum: from changing the lives of those around you just by giving simple, caring attention, to perhaps he really is an angel - or perhaps, he is more. A real gem, and it's only 40 pages.
The Philosopher's Joke is a fantasy story about three married couples who have grown weary. One married a beauty who is aging; another married a dowdy girl who 20 years later has blossomed; a woman chose a great dancer who no longer dances. Youth is discussed over drinks one night, and a stranger offers them a magical way to return 20 years into the past, while retaining the knowledge of this exact future.
Is it an offer too good to pass up?
The Cost of Kindness is short and sweet, a memorable story of a village parish who vehemently despise their Rev. Augustus Craklethorpe. Despite trying to be good Christians, his sermons are painful and the man cannot be tolerated. Craklethorpe equally hates his parishioners, who he sees as simpleminded nobodies. The day when he announces he is quitting Wychwood-on-the-heath is silently celebrated all around. The only problem is Mrs. Pennycoop, whose desire to wish him well upends everything!
The Passing Of The Third Floor Back began as a stage play in 1907, and has been filmed twice (in 1918 and 1935). Along with more than 10 novels, and over 20 stage plays, Jerome K. Jerome has a museum in his birthplace and there are statues and plaques commemorating his work all over the world.
"I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours" - Jerome K. Jerome
Read these for yourself with a free download from Gutenberg.org
1907 / Hardcover / 160 pages
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