Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, published in 1886

1886 in literature

The year 1886 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* MLN: Modern Language Notes, an academic journal founded with the intention of introducing European literary criticism into American scholarship, is founded at the Johns Hopkins University.-Books:*Louisa May Alcott - Jo's...

, is a collection of humorous essays by Jerome K. Jerome

Jerome K. Jerome

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...

. It was the author’s second published book and it helped establish him as a leading English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 humorist. While widely considered one of Jerome’s better works, and in spite of using the same style as Three Men in a Boat

Three Men in a Boat

Three Men in a Boat ,The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog! published in 1889, is a humorous account by Jerome K...

, it was never as popular as the latter. The book was out of print for many years, but a paperback edition became available in 2002. A second "Idle Thoughts" book, The Second Thoughts of An Idle Fellow, was published in 1898.

Content

The book consists of 14 independent articles arranged by themes:

1. ON BEING IDLE.
2. ON BEING IN LOVE.
3. ON BEING IN THE BLUES.
4. ON BEING HARD UP
   Poor
   Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.People with the surname Poor:* Charles Henry Poor, a US Navy officer* Charles Lane Poor, an astronomer* Edward Erie Poor, a vice president of the National Park Bank...
   
   .
5. ON VANITY AND VANITIES.
6. ON GETTING ON IN THE WORLD.
7. ON THE WEATHER.
8. ON CATS AND DOGS.
9. ON BEING SHY.
10. ON BABIES.
11. ON EATING AND DRINKING.
12. ON FURNISHED APARTMENTS.
13. ON DRESS AND DEPORTMENT.
14. ON MEMORY.

Book excerpts

Influence on other literary works

Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl, a book by the pseudonymous "Jenny Wren", was published in 1891. The actual author is still anonymous. The book has the same form as Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, but is from the point of view of a woman.

The foundation of bi-yearly British magazine The Idler

The Idler (1993)

The Idler is a yearly British magazine devoted to its ethos of 'idling'. Founded in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the publication's intention is to return dignity to the art of loafing, to make idling into something to aspire towards rather than reject.The magazine combines the...

was influenced by the title and the ideas expressed in Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.

External links

• Project Gutenberg: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow