Stivings is a fictional character referenced in chapter six of Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (1889). The narrator, Jerome, describes Stivvings as a classmate during their school years. Stivvings was studious and responsible, earning him the nickname "Sandford and Merton". However, he was prone to illness, which interrupted his studies, much to his consternation. Jerome and his friends envied him for escaping studies (most notably during the cholera outbreak of 1871), even if he was sick.
Stivvings was on the path to vampirism. Towards that end, he assumed the form of a rat. Shortly after Professor Abraham Van Helsing, J., Harris, George, and Montmorency the dog entered Abney Park Cemetery to hunt for Stivvings' master, Montmorency slipped his leash, and found Stivvings while in his rat form. Montmorency killed Stivvings by ripping his throat out. The now permanently dead Stivvings returned to his human form, although he was naked. Van Helsing identified Stivvings, and explained what had happened to his companions. Van Helsing urged them on, congratulating J. for Montmorency's actions. J. was more disturbed.[1]
Literary comment[]
As it is Van Helsing, not J., who identifies Stivvings by name, this character might not be the one from Jerome's novel.
References[]
↑Some Time Later: Fantastic Voyages Through Alternate Worlds, pgs. 20-22, TPB; Other People's Playgrounds, pgs. 35-38.