He was born in Walsall, West Midlands (but then in Staffordshire), where there is now a museum in his honour, and brought up in poverty in London.
Three Men in a Boat (1899) is an account of Jerome and two friends (and Montmorency the dog) on a trip up the River Thames. The book was intended initially to be serious, with accounts of local history of places along the route; the humorous elements eventually took over. There was a not-so-successful sequel, about a cycling tour in Europe, entitled Three Men on the Bummel.
Other works include Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, a book of essays.
The most famous quotation from Three Men in a Boat is "I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours."