Best known today for the innovative satire and experimental narrative of Tristram Shandy (1759-67), Laurence Sterne was no less famous in his time for A Sentimental Journey (1768) and for his controversial sermons. Sterne spent much of his life as an obscure clergyman in rural Yorkshire. But he brilliantly exploited the sensation achieved with the first instalment of Tristram Shandy to become, by his death in 1768, a fashionable celebrity across Europe. In this Companion, specially commissioned essays by leading scholars provide an authoritative and accessible guide to Sterne's writings in their historical and cultural context. Exploring key issues in his work, including sentimentalism, national identity, gender, print culture and visual culture, as well as his subsequent influence on a range of important literary movements and modes, the book offers a comprehensive new account of Sterne's life and work.

This Companion provides essays on the author of Tristram Shandy, his eighteenth-century context, his oeuvre and its reception.

About the Author
Thomas Keymer is Chancellor Jackman Professor of English at the University of Toronto.


Book Information
ISBN 9780521614948
Author Thomas Keymer
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 360g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 150mm * 12mm