Paul Kelver

Paul Kelver is a 1902 autobiographical novel by Jerome K. Jerome (best known for Three Men in a Boat).

From the novel, a passage which seems to refer to Jerome's coming of age:

"Returning home on this particular day of days, I paused upon the bridge, and watched for a while the lazy barges maneuvering their way between the piers. It was one of those hushed summer evenings when the air even of grim cities is full of whispering voices; and as, turning away from the river, I passed through the white toll-gate, I had a sense of leaving myself behind me on the bridge. So vivid was the impression, that I looked back, half expecting to see myself still leaning over the iron parapet, looking down into the sunlit water."

Jerome K Jerome was born in 1859. He was an English humorist best known for his travelogue Three Men in a Boat. Jerome's childhood in London was one of poverty. His first job was collecting coal along the railroads. After the success of Three Men in a Boat Jerome was able to write full time. Paul Kelver was published in 1902 and is in part autobiographical.