Summary
Summary of Three Men on the Bummel
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A journey without a fixed goal
J., Harris and George leave home for a bicycle tour of Germany and the Black Forest. J. and Harris are married; George is a bachelor. Their journey is a bummel: a trip without a fixed goal, bounded only by the need to return home on time.
That loose purpose gives the friends room to wander. The places they visit matter, but so do their conversations, misunderstandings and stories. The journey offers a setting in which ordinary habits and friendships can become comic adventures.
Key idea 2
The wives have plans too
Start free to read
Key idea 3
Helpful improvements can ruin a bicycle
Start free to read
Key idea 4
The phrasebook fails its practical test
Start free to read
Key idea 5
Tidiness meets the travellers' confusion
Start free to read
Key idea 6
A practical joke unsettles George
Start free to read
Key idea 7
Everyday conduct runs into the law
Start free to read
Key idea 8
The ride refuses to match expectations
Start free to read
Key idea 9
Neither side keeps the upper hand
Start free to read
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who like gentle English humour, comic mishaps among old friends, and affectionate mockery of national habits. It suits anyone who enjoys a storyteller who wanders off the road and comes back with a better tale.
What this book is
Jerome K. Jerome's comic travel book follows the narrator J., his old friend Harris and the bachelor George as they leave home for a bicycle tour of Germany and the Black Forest. A bummel, the narrator explains, is a journey with no fixed goal, limited only by the need to get home on time.
In this summary
- 1Three men plot their escapeFree
- 2The wives have their own ideas
- 3Gadgets, overhauling and a foreign phrasebook
- 4Early rising and a bad morning in London
- 5A digression on information and scenery
- 6Germany seen as the tidy land
- 7Prague, a hair restorer and a plot against beer
- 8Trouble with the German law
- 9Cycling in practice, and the Black Forest
Key point 1 of 9
Three men plot their escape
The book opens with Harris declaring that the three men need a complete change. Then comes the real problem. How do two married men and one bachelor leave home without looking selfish?
The narrator tells of a young engineer who said he was going to Vienna on business. His wife simply came along, and he spent ten days writing reports nobody wanted. The friends decide that frankness is the better plan.
The sea is tried and rejected after the tale of the yacht Rogue, where the wind was always wrong and the crew had to be fed. Harris at last proposes a bicycle tour of the Black Forest.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Check yourself
What makes a journey a bummel?
Right. “A bummel, the narrator explains, is a journey with no fixed goal, limited only by the need to get home on time.”Not quite. “A bummel, the narrator explains, is a journey with no fixed goal, limited only by the need to get home on time.”
Why do Harris and the narrator trick George with copies of a statue?
Right. “Harris and the narrator then try to cure George of too much Pilsner beer.”Not quite. “Harris and the narrator then try to cure George of too much Pilsner beer.”
How does the narrator balance his jokes about Germans?
Right. “Underneath the jokes runs a steady, teasing study of the Germans as a tidy, law-loving and kindly people, balanced by constant mockery of English habits too.”Not quite. “Underneath the jokes runs a steady, teasing study of the Germans as a tidy, law-loving and kindly people, balanced by constant mockery of English habits too.”
Questions about Three Men on the Bummel
What is Three Men on the Bummel about?
It follows three friends, the narrator, Harris and George, on a bicycle tour from Hamburg through Germany and the Black Forest. The trip is a thin frame for comic anecdotes about family life, gadgets, language and German habits.
What does the word bummel mean in the title?
The narrator explains it near the end as a journey, long or short, with no particular destination. Its only limit is the need to be back at the starting point by a set time.
Is Three Men on the Bummel a sequel to Three Men in a Boat?
Yes, it brings back the same three friends, but it stands on its own. Here they swap the Thames for bicycles and a trip abroad. You do not need to know the first book to follow the jokes.
Is Three Men on the Bummel a true story?
It is a comic novel, though it draws on Jerome's own travels in Germany and uses real places. The incidents are exaggerated for humour, and the narrator himself jokes about his lack of accuracy.
Is Three Men on the Bummel easy to read?
It is written in a lively, chatty voice, with short anecdotes and plenty of dialogue. Each chapter can be enjoyed on its own, so you can pick it up and put it down easily.
