Three Men in a Boat

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them just fine. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather forecasts, and tins of pineapple chunks—not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.'s small fox-terrier Montmorency. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) was an instant success when it appeared in 1889, and, with its benign escapism, authorial discursions, and wonderful evocation of the late-Victorian clerking classes, it hilariously captured the spirit of its age.