Jerome K. Jerome 
Three Men in a Boat (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) 
(To Say Nothing of the Dog!)

Three Men in a Boat is the hilarious story of three Victorian mens boating journey up the Thames River to Oxford, England–from the time they pack suitcases to their encounters with locals along the way. Set in London during the 1880s, the tale draws striking contrasts between the middle and upper classes, and is one of the greatest childrens stories of all time. The book is beautifully illustrated in color by well-known artist Paul Cox, and it is complete and unabridged.

About the author

By the time Jerome Klapka Jerome (1859-1927) was fourteen years old, both of his parents had died leaving him and his two older sisters in utter poverty. His tried earning money as a clerk on Englands railway but preferred ‘the life whose glorious uncertainty almost rivals that of the turf, ‘ that is, the theater. In 1885 he wrote his first book, On the Stage and Off, The Brief Career of a Would-Be Actor. However it wasnt until 1889, when he published Three Men in a Boat, that he finally reached financial security. His other well-known work is the autobiography My Life and Times.