"Three Men in a Boat" is one of the most amusing and durable books in the English language. Semi-autobiographical, it recounts the adventures and mishaps of George, Harris, J. (the author) and his remarkable dog Montmorency during a boat trip along the River Thames in England from London to Oxford. Jerome K. Jerome originally intended the book to be a guide to the Thames Valley but his publisher thought it so entertaining it was published as a comic novel and has endured as a classic of the genre ever since. Wonderfully light and surprisingly modern in tone, the sense of fun is irrepressible, the enjoyment unstoppable. Real laugh-out-loud stuff. Hugh Laurie is one of Britain's most successful actors. Having started out with Stephen Fry in "Jeeves and Wooster", "Blackadder" and "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", he has become a superstar in America thanks to the success of the television series "House", where he plays the eponymous doctor protagonist.