Passing of the Third Floor Back by Jerome K. Jerome ~ 1904. This edition: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1928. Hardcover. 186 pages.
My rating: This is one of those complicated-to-rate books. In context with other short story collections of its time, I thought it fairly typical. Not perhaps outstanding, but a solid little group of era-correct (love that term – it comes from the vintage car world, in which I have a tiny involvement) pieces. Did I enjoy them, though, on a purely reading-for-pleasure level? Some yes, others not so much. I thought the short stories herein were reasonably well written – if a bit wordy – and quite moralistic. No doubt as to what we’re supposed to be thinking at the end of each!
So, taking everything into consideration, how about 7/10. I don’t know if I would recommend this small collection as purely pleasure reading suitable for modern tastes, but the stories do possess a certain curiousity value, and several are quite humorous, in an “era-correct” (there, I got to use that again!) sort of way.
*****
Jerome K. Jerome, 1859-1927, is, as you’ll know unless you’ve been residing under a literary rock all your adult days, best-known for his 1889 comic novel, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), still very much in print 123 years after its first publication. This was my own first introduction to this author some years ago, and I found the story mildly diverting. A pleasant memory persisted, so when I chanced upon this book of short stories in a pile of vintage hardcovers on the deliciously over-crowded shelves of At Second Glance in Kamloops, I eagerly added it to my pile of acquisitions.
Apparently the title story, Passing of the Third Floor Back, was made into a quite successful movie in 1935, starring Conrad Veidt. I must admit I’d never heard of it until I did a bit of background research on this book for reasons of this review, but from the Wikipedia article it looks as though Jerome’s story was very much a starting point – the movie plot as described seems nothing like the story I’ve just read, but for the boarding house setting and the idea of the mysterious stranger changing the lives of those about him.
Six stories make up this collection.
Passing of the Third Floor Back ~ A mysterious stranger moves into a squalid boarding house and changes the lives of everyone who comes into contact with him.
The Philosopher’s Joke ~ What if you could go back to your younger days, but still remember everything you’d learned through your maturity? I liked the premise, but found the handling rather awkward. An intriguing idea – very thought-provoking.
The Soul of Nicolas Snyders, or The Miser of Zandam ~ An exchange of souls has predictable results, and a few surprises. Moralistic but smile-provoking.
Mrs. Korner Sins Her Mercies ~ The most purely humorous story of the collection. A clever friend puts an interesting spin on a marital crisis.
The Cost of Kindness ~ A good deed sets off a chain reaction, with very different results than first anticipated. Another humorous piece.
The Love of Ulrich Nebendahl ~ Self-sacrifice taken to the extreme. This was the most serious story of the lot; a rather shocking conclusion, which the author attempts to soften with a Biblical tag.
*****
I am going to leave my review right there – a simple report – so sorry, but I can’t quite bring off a deeper analysis. Limited computer time this week, and so much going on in my real life that my thinking capacity is all used up by the time I sit down to type!
Leaves & Pages 
Thanks for another interesting review, L&P. I had no idea that the plot of ‘The Passing of the Third Floor Back’ differed at all between the original story and its 1935 film adaptation (which is well worth seeing, by the way). The film is beautifully made & quite haunting, with Conrad Veidt delivering an excellent but remarkably subtle performance as the Stranger. Pity the book didn’t quite live up to your (or my) expectations.
This collection is very dated in style & content – not necessarily a bad thing, just a sometimes slightly awkward read – a bit of work for the reader. Felt a bit preachy at times, but not more so than other works of the era.
Worth a read if it’s easy to access – I’m thinking it’s available on Project Gutenberg, though I haven’t checked. The book is a “keeper”, and I imagine I’ll re-read it some day. I’ve just pulled out an omnibus edition of Three Men in a Boat/On a Bummel, but I’m thinking I won’t be reading it right away – tried a few pages but it didn’t take – need to be in the right mood for Jerome.
I have never seen the movie version of Third Floor Back, but I’ll see if I can find it through our library network – there is an amazing array of old movies available. I am curious about Conrad Veidt, after seeing a character in a Monica Dickens novel (a woman) compared to him in appearance – favourably, I might add!