Sterne, Laurence (1713–1768)

Laurence Sterne, among the most prominent English novelists of the 18th century, is best known for The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, a novel that mocks traditional literary conventions. In contrast to an ordinary presentation of time as a linear process, Sterne emphasizes the relativity of time in human experience by means of exuberant digressions.

Sterne was born in Clonmel, Ireland, the son of an impoverished infantryman. On account of his father's profession, Sterne spent his early childhood in various barracks moving from place to place. The future novelist was sent to school at the age of 10. from there he proceeded to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he first encountered the works of the philosopher John Locke.

In 1738 Sterne took holy orders and became vicar at Sutton-on-the-Forest. Three years later he relocated to York, where he assumed the position of prebendary. In the same year the clergyman married Elizabeth Lumley, who suffered several miscarriages before their daughter Lydia was born in 1747. Despite the birth of Lydia, Sterne's family life was not happy. In addition, he and his wife suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis. To recover from the quarrels in his private as well as in his public life, Sterne took an interest in painting, played the violin, read widely, and spent much of his time in the company of other women.

The author lived in Sutton for 20 years. It was at the end of this period that he began to work on his most famous novel, Tristram Shandy. Between 1759 and 1767 the work was published in nine volumes. The first version of volumes one and two was rejected by the London printer Robert Dodsley, so Sterne had to revise them. They were finally published in 1759 in London. These and the remaining seven volumes were highly successful although they aroused indignation among some contemporary literary critics (among them Samuel Johnson).

The aggravation of his tuberculosis forced Sterne to leave England. In January 1762 a journey to the south of France was arranged which engendered Sterne's second novel A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. After his wife and his daughter had followed him, the family went to [Page 1199]Toulouse where they settled for 1 year. In 1763 the Sternes visited Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles, and Montpellier. One year later the writer returned to England and finished the seventh and eighth volumes of his masterpiece, Tristram Shandy. Elizabeth and Lydia preferred to stay in Montpellier. In 1765 the writer left England again and set out for France and Italy, a trip that supplied him with further material for the Sentimental Journey. The work was published early in 1768. In March of the same year Sterne fell ill with influenza and died.

The author's literary career began late. Between 1742 and 1750 Sterne wrote letters, sermons, essays on local politics, and experimented with satire. A Political Romance (the title was later changed into The History of a Good Warm Watch Coat) was published in 1759. It was Sterne's major publication prior to Tristram Shandy and gave evidence of his power as a humorist.

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