Laurence Sterne
The Origin of Originality
Laurence Sterne may not be a familiar name to you, but James Joyce probably is. If you're wondering what the connection is, prepare to meet Sterne, staple author of college English curricula everywhere and one of the innovators of the modern novel. His fame stems from his book, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, the first volumes of which were published in 1760. The book was an endeavor of great creativity and originality, which makes sense given the unique character of its author.
Although parts of Sterne's life were quite ordinary, sources say he demonstrated both genius and quirkiness from an early age. Sterne did make efforts to be conventional: he attended Jesus College at Cambridge and was ordained soon after. Although he took a position as vicar, he was unsuited to the religious life. In fact, the Jesus College Web site reports that while Sterne was a preacher at York Minster, "as soon as he mounted the pulpit, half of the congregation usually left the church, as his delivery and voice [were] so very disagreeable.'" Luckily for Stern, the instant success of Tristram Shandy gave him the chance to lead a more continental––and interesting––life. To get the full story of Sterne's life, visit the Jesus College site.
Source: Jesus College
Hypertext for the Hyper Novel
Tristram Shandy met with popular success from the moment the first of its nine volumes was published. Although the book was considered pleasure reading in the 18th century, today it's the subject of significant scholarly criticism. You can enjoy a good balance of the two at The Tristram Shandy Web Project, put up by the English Literature department at IULM University Milan. The project consists of all nine volumes of the work in hypertext, with scholarly papers available in pop-up windows as you read. You can also scroll through all the scholarly work available on subjects such as fashion, or language and rhetoric, by using the left sidebar.
Source: The Tristram Shandy Web Project
Staying Power
Not only is Sterne an influential force in the canon of modern literature, he's also got quite a collection of one-liners. Find out whether any of them are familiar to you by visiting "Bartlett's Quotations" on Bartleby.com. Chances are, you'll be impressed by these popular quotations because, as Sterne says, "Great wits jump." (It's the origin of our saying, "Great minds think alike.")
Source: Bartleby
Although Sterne has been important enough to secure a solid spot in Bartlett's quote book, when Dr. Samuel Johnson reviewed Tristram Shandy he dismissed it for its strangeness, declaring, "nothing odd will last." Dr. Johnson was quite wrong: almost 250 years after the book's first wave of success, the University of Glasgow library nominated it "Book of Month." The special collections library displayed a copy of the book with sections printed as early as 1765. You can view the rare text on the University's Web site.
Source: University of Glasgow Library
Tristram Shandy's lasting acclaim is not limited to scholarly communities. In fact, in 2006, director Michael Winterbottom presented, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. The movie is not an adaptation of the book, but a film about people who are trying to film the book, which New York Times reviewer A.O Scott suggests, "is so widely believed to be unfilmable that you can almost imagine that when Laurence Sterne wrote it in the middle of the 18th century, one of his intentions was to flummox future cinéastes enamored of wigs, breeches and quill pens." However, Winterbottom's film received rave reviews. Scott promises that "far from refuting the idea that the novel could never be adapted for the screen, [Winterbottom] proves it in the most ingenious and entertaining manner." To read the rest of the review, visit The New York Times movie section.
Source: The New York Times
If reading the review whets your palette but you still need convincing, visit Apple to see the trailer.
