Lawrence Sterne
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Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
and
Anglican cleric The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...
who wrote the novels ''
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by '' Don Quixote''. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others follow ...
'' and ''
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' is a novel by Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning det ...
'', published
sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...
and memoirs, and indulged in local politics. He grew up in a military family travelling mainly in Ireland but briefly in England. An uncle paid for Sterne to attend Hipperholme Grammar School in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, as Sterne's father was ordered to Jamaica, where he died of malaria some years later. He attended
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
on a
sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
ship, gaining bachelor's and master's degrees. While Vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest, Yorkshire, he married Elizabeth Lumley in 1741. His ecclesiastical
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
''
A Political Romance ''A Political Romance'' is a 1759 novel by Laurence Sterne, author of ''Tristram Shandy''. The novel was the first work written by Sterne, and it can be labelled a ''roman à clef'' or a ''cronique scandaleuse'', which were popular at the begi ...
'' infuriated the church and was burnt. With his new talent for writing, he published early volumes of his best-known novel, ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman''. Sterne travelled to France to find relief from persistent tuberculosis, documenting his travels in ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published weeks before his death. His posthumous ''Journal to Eliza'' addresses
Eliza Draper Eliza Draper (5 April 1744 – 3 August 1778) is best known as Laurence Sterne's Eliza. She was his muse and is commemorated in his '' Sentimental Journey'' and ''Journal to Eliza''. She had literary talents that were developed under Sterne's in ...
, for whom he had romantic feelings. Sterne died in 1768 and was buried in the yard of St George's, Hanover Square. His body was said to have been stolen after burial and sold to
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
s at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
, but recognised and reinterred. His ostensible skull was found in the churchyard and transferred to
Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors, North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote ''A Sentimental Jour ...
in 1969 by the Laurence Sterne Trust.


Biography


Early life and education

Sterne was born in Clonmel,
County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...
on 24 November 1713. His father, Roger Sterne, was an
ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in a British regiment recently returned from Dunkirk. His great-grandfather Richard Sterne had been the Master of
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
as well as the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
. Roger Sterne was the youngest son of Richard Sterne's youngest son and consequently, Roger Sterne inherited little of Richard Sterne's wealth. Roger Sterne left his family and enlisted in the army at the age of 25; he enlisted uncommissioned, which was unusual for someone from a family of high social position. Despite being promoted to an officer, he was of the lowest commission and lacked financial resources. Roger Sterne married Agnes Hobert, the widow of a military captain. Agnes was "born in Flanders but... was in fact Anglo-Irish and lived for much of her life in Ireland." The first decade of Laurence Sterne's life was spent from place to place, as his father was regularly reassigned to a new (usually Irish) garrison. "Other than a three-year stint in a Dublin townhouse, the Sternes never lived anywhere for more than a year between Laurence's birth and his departure for boarding school in England a few months shy of his eleventh birthday. Besides Clonmel and Dublin, the Sternes also lived in
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
Town;
Annamoe Annamoe () is a village located on the Avonmore river in County Wicklow, Ireland about south of Dublin. It is on the R755 road (at the junction with the R763) between Roundwood and Laragh on the road to Glendalough. The small stone humpbac ...
, Co. Wicklow; Drogheda, Co. Louth;
Castlepollard Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar. Name The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or ...
, Co. Westmeath;
Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...
, Co. Antrim; and Derry City." In 1724, "shortly before the family's arrival in Derry," Roger took Sterne to his wealthy brother, Richard, so that Laurence could attend Hipperholme Grammar School near Halifax. Laurence never saw his father again as Roger was ordered to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
where he died of malaria in 1731. Laurence was admitted to a
sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
ship at Jesus College, in July 1733 at the age of 20. He graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in January 1737 and returned in the summer of 1740 to be awarded his
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
degree.


Early career

Sterne was ordained as a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
on 6 March 1737 and as a priest on 20 August 1738. His religion is said to have been the "centrist Anglicanism of his time", known as "
latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...
ism". A few days after his ordination as a priest, Sterne was awarded the vicarage living of Sutton-on-the-Forest in Yorkshire. Sterne married Elizabeth Lumley on 30 March 1741, despite both being ill with
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
. In 1743, he was presented to the neighbouring
living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
of Stillington by Rev. Richard
Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...
, Prebendary of Stillington, who was patron of the living. Subsequently, Sterne did duty both there and at Sutton. He was also a
prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...
of
York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...
. Sterne's life at this time was closely tied with his uncle, Jaques Sterne, the Archdeacon of
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and
Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
of York Minster. Sterne's uncle was an ardent Whig, and urged Sterne to begin a career of
political journalism Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political journa ...
which resulted in some scandal for Sterne and, eventually, a terminal falling-out between the two men. This falling out occurred after Sterne ended his political career in 1742. He had previously written anonymous propaganda for the ''York Gazetteer'' from 1741 to 1742. Laurence lived in Sutton for twenty years, during which time he kept up an intimacy which had begun at Cambridge with
John Hall-Stevenson John Hall-Stevenson (1718–March 1785), in his youth known as John Hall, was an English country gentleman and writer. He is memorialised as "Eugenius" in Laurence Sterne's novels ''Tristram Shandy'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and ...
, a witty and accomplished ''bon vivant'', owner of Skelton Hall in the Cleveland district of Yorkshire.


Writing

Sterne wrote a religious satire work called ''
A Political Romance ''A Political Romance'' is a 1759 novel by Laurence Sterne, author of ''Tristram Shandy''. The novel was the first work written by Sterne, and it can be labelled a ''roman à clef'' or a ''cronique scandaleuse'', which were popular at the begi ...
'' in 1759. Many copies of his work were destroyed. According to a 1760 anonymous letter, Sterne "hardly knew that he could write at all, much less with humour so as to make his reader laugh". At the age of 46, Sterne dedicated himself to writing for the rest of his life. It was while living in the countryside, having failed in his attempts to supplement his income as a farmer and struggling with tuberculosis, that Sterne began work on his best-known novel, ''
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by '' Don Quixote''. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others follow ...
'', the first volumes of which were published in 1759. Sterne was at work on his celebrated comic novel during the year that his mother died, his wife was seriously ill, and his daughter was also taken ill with a fever. He wrote as fast as he possibly could, composing the first 18 chapters between January and March 1759.Cross (1908), chap. 8, ''The Publication of Tristram Shandy: Volumes I and II'', p. 178. Due to his poor financial position, Sterne was forced to borrow money for the printing of his novel, suggesting that Sterne was confident in the prospective commercial success of his work and that the local critical reception of the novel was favourable enough to justify the loan. The publication of ''Tristram Shandy'' made Sterne famous in London and on the continent. He was delighted by the attention, famously saying "I wrote not obe ''fed'' but to be ''famous''." He spent part of each year in London, being fêted as new volumes appeared. Even after the publication of volumes three and four of ''Tristram Shandy'', his love of attention (especially as related to financial success) remained undiminished. In one letter, he wrote "One half of the town abuse my book as bitterly, as the other half cry it up to the skies — the best is, they abuse it and buy it, and at such a rate, that we are going on with a second edition, as fast as possible." Indeed, Baron Fauconberg rewarded Sterne by appointing him as the perpetual curate of
Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors, North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote ''A Sentimental Jour ...
, North Yorkshire in March 1760. In 1766, at the height of the debate about slavery, the composer and former slave Ignatius Sancho wrote to Sterne encouraging him to use his pen to lobby for the abolition of the slave trade. In July 1766 Sterne received Sancho's letter shortly after he had finished writing a conversation between his fictional characters Corporal Trim and his brother Tom in ''Tristram Shandy'', wherein Tom described the oppression of a black servant in a sausage shop in Lisbon which he had visited. Sterne's widely publicised response to Sancho's letter became an integral part of 18th-century abolitionist literature.


Foreign travel

Sterne continued to struggle with his illness, and departed England for France in 1762 in an effort to find a climate that would alleviate his suffering. Sterne was lucky to attach himself to a diplomatic party bound for
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, as England and France were still adversaries in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
. Sterne was gratified by his reception in France, where reports of the genius of ''Tristram Shandy'' had made him a celebrity. Aspects of this trip to France were incorporated into Sterne's second novel, ''
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' is a novel by Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning det ...
''.


Eliza

Early in 1767, Sterne met
Eliza Draper Eliza Draper (5 April 1744 – 3 August 1778) is best known as Laurence Sterne's Eliza. She was his muse and is commemorated in his '' Sentimental Journey'' and ''Journal to Eliza''. She had literary talents that were developed under Sterne's in ...
, the wife of an official of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, then staying on her own in London. He was quickly captivated by Eliza's charm, vivacity, and intelligence, and she did little to discourage the attentions of such a celebrated man. They met frequently, exchanged miniature portraits, and Sterne's admiration seems to have turned into an obsession which he took no trouble to conceal. To his great distress, Eliza had to return to India three months after their first meeting, and he died from consumption a year later without seeing her again. Early in 1768, Sterne brought out his ''Sentimental Journey'', which contains some extravagant references to her, and the relationship, though platonic, aroused considerable interest. He also wrote his '' Journal to Eliza'' part of which he sent to her, and the rest of which came to light when it was presented to the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1894. After Sterne's death, Eliza allowed ten of his letters to be published under the title ''Letters from Yorick to Eliza'' and succeeded in suppressing her letters to him, though some blatant forgeries were produced, probably by William Combe, in a volume of ''Eliza's Letters to Yorick''.


Death

Less than a month after ''Sentimental Journey'' was published, early in 1768, Sterne died in his lodgings at 41 Old Bond Street on 18 March, at the age of 54. He was buried in the churchyard of St George's, Hanover Square on 22 March. It was widely rumoured that Sterne's body was stolen shortly after it was interred and sold to
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
s at Cambridge University. Circumstantially, it was said that his body was recognised by Charles Collignon, who knew him and discreetly reinterred back in St George's, in an unknown plot. A year later a group of Freemasons erected a memorial stone with a rhyming epitaph near to his original burial place. A second stone was erected in 1893, correcting some factual errors on the memorial stone. When the churchyard of St. George's was redeveloped in 1969, amongst 11,500 skulls disinterred, several were identified with drastic cuts from anatomising or a post-mortem examination. One was identified to be of a size that matched a bust of Sterne made by Nollekens. The skull was held up to be his, albeit with "a certain area of doubt". Along with nearby skeletal bones, these remains were transferred to
Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors, North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote ''A Sentimental Jour ...
churchyard in 1969 by the Laurence Sterne Trust. The story of the reinterment of Sterne's skull in Coxwold is alluded to in
Malcolm Bradbury Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic. Life Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with ...
's novel ''To the Hermitage''.


Works

The works of Laurence Sterne are few in comparison to other eighteenth-century authors of comparable stature. Sterne's early works were letters; he had two sermons published (in 1747 and 1750), and tried his hand at satire. He was involved in, and wrote about, local politics in 1742. His major publication prior to ''Tristram Shandy'' was the satire ''
A Political Romance ''A Political Romance'' is a 1759 novel by Laurence Sterne, author of ''Tristram Shandy''. The novel was the first work written by Sterne, and it can be labelled a ''roman à clef'' or a ''cronique scandaleuse'', which were popular at the begi ...
'' (1759), aimed at conflicts of interest within
York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...
. A posthumously published piece on the art of preaching, ''
A Fragment in the Manner of Rabelais A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
'', appears to have been written in 1759. Rabelais was by far Sterne's favourite author, and in his correspondence he made clear that he considered himself as Rabelais' successor in humour writing, distancing himself from
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
. Sterne's novel ''
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by '' Don Quixote''. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others follow ...
'' sold widely in England and throughout Europe. Translations of the work began to appear in all the major European languages almost upon its publication, and Sterne influenced European writers as diverse as
Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...
and the German Romanticists. His work had also noticeable influence over
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian author
Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short sto ...
, who made use of the digressive technique in the novel '' The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas''. English writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson's verdict in 1776 was that "Nothing odd will do long. ''Tristram Shandy'' did not last." This is strikingly different from the views of European critics of the day, who praised Sterne and ''Tristram Shandy'' as innovative and superior.
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
called it "clearly superior to Rabelais", and later
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
praised Sterne as "the most beautiful spirit that ever lived". Swedish translator Johan Rundahl described Sterne as an arch-sentimentalist. The title page to volume one includes a short Greek epigraph, which in English reads: "Not things, but opinions about things, trouble men." Before the novel properly begins, Sterne also offers a dedication to Lord William Pitt. He urges Pitt to retreat with the book from the cares of statecraft. The novel itself starts with the narration, by Tristram, of his own conception. It proceeds mostly by what Sterne calls "progressive digressions" so that we do not reach Tristram's birth before the third volume. The novel is rich in characters and humour, and the influences of Rabelais and
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...
are present throughout. The novel ends after 9 volumes, published over a decade, but without anything that might be considered a traditional conclusion. Sterne inserts sermons, essays and legal documents into the pages of his novel; and he explores the limits of typography and print design by including marbled pages and an entirely black page within the narrative. Many of the innovations that Sterne introduced, adaptations in form that were an exploration of what constitutes the novel, were highly influential to
Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
writers like
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
and
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
, and more contemporary writers such as
Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...
and
David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...
.
Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...
referred to ''Tristram Shandy'' as the "undoubted progenitor of all avant-garde novels of our century". The Russian Formalist writer
Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures ass ...
regarded ''Tristram Shandy'' as the archetypal, quintessential novel, "the most typical novel of world literature." However, the leading critical opinions of ''Tristram Shandy'' tend to be markedly polarised in their evaluations of its significance. Since the 1950s, following the lead of D. W. Jefferson, there are those who argue that, whatever its legacy of influence may be, ''Tristram Shandy'' in its original context actually represents a resurgence of a much older,
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
tradition of "Learned Wit" – owing a debt to such influences as the Scriblerian approach. ''
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' is a novel by Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning det ...
'' has many stylistic parallels with ''Tristram Shandy'', and indeed, the narrator is one of the minor characters from the earlier novel. Although the story is more straightforward, ''A Sentimental Journey'' is interpreted by critics as part of the same artistic project to which ''Tristram Shandy'' belongs. Two volumes of Sterne's ''Sermons'' were published during his lifetime; more copies of his ''Sermons'' were sold in his lifetime than copies of ''Tristram Shandy''. The sermons, however, are conventional in substance. Several volumes of letters were published after his death, as was '' Journal to Eliza''. These collections of letters, more sentimental than humorous, tell of Sterne's relationship with Eliza Draper.


Publications

*1743 – "The Unknown World: Verses Occasioned by Hearing a Pass-Bell" (disputed, possibly written by Hubert Stogdon) *1747 – "The Case of Elijah and the Widow of Zerephath" *1750 – "The Abuses of Conscience" *1759 – ''A Political Romance'' *1759 – ''Tristram Shandy'' vol. 1 and 2 *1760 – ''The Sermons of Mr Yorick'' vol. 1 and 2 *1761 – ''Tristram Shandy'' vol. 3–6 *1765 – ''Tristram Shandy'' vol. 7 and 8 *1766 – ''The Sermons of Mr Yorick'' vol. 3 and 4 *1767 – ''Tristram Shandy'' vol. 9 *1768 – ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' (''The Sermons of Mr. Yorick'' volumes 5-7, were published in 1769.) Source


See also

* List of abolitionist forerunners * List of Irish writers


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*René Bosch, ''Labyrinth of Digressions: Tristram Shandy as Perceived and Influenced by Sterne's Early Imitators'' (Amsterdam, 2007) * W. M. Thackeray, in ''English Humourists of the Eighteenth Century'' (London, 1853; new edition, New York, 1911) * Percy Fitzgerald, ''Life of Laurence Sterne'' (London, 1864; second edition, London, 1896) *
Paul Stapfer Paul Stapfer (1840–1917) was a French essayist, born in Paris, and educated at the Bonaparte Lyceum. After serving as tutor in the family of François Guizot, he became a professor at Grenoble. In 1883, he accepted a similar professorship ...
, ''Laurence Sterne, sa personne et ses ouvrages'' (second edition, Paris, 1882) * H. D. Traill, ''Laurence Sterne'', " English Men of Letters", (London, 1882) * *Texte, ''Rousseau et le cosmopolitisme littôraire au XVIIIème siècle'' (Paris, 1895) *H. W. Thayer, ''Laurence Sterne in Germany'' (New York, 1905) * P. E. More, ''Shelburne Essays'' (third series, New York, 1905) * L. S. Benjamin, ''Life and Letters'' (two volumes, 1912) * Rousseau, George S. (2004). ''Nervous Acts: Essays on Literature, Culture and Sensibility.'' Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.


External links

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Tristram Shandybeta
''In Our Time''
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Laurence Sterne at the Google Books Search
*
"Tristram Shandy". Annotated, with bibliography, criticism.
* ttp://www.gasl.org/refbib/Sterne__Shandy_Journey.pdf ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy'' & ''A Sentimental Journey'' Munich: Edited by Günter Jürgensmeier, 2005
The Shandean: A Journal Devoted to the Works of Laurence Sterne (tables of contents available online)Laurence Sterne
at the National Portrait Gallery, London
The Laurence Sterne Trust
*
Anonymous parodies of the kinds of letters written by Elizabeth Draper to Laurence Sterne (as Yorick)
MSS SC 4, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
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