The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (or Tristram Shandy) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next seven years (vols. 3 and 4, 1761; vols. 5 and 6, 1762; vols. 7 and 8, 1765; vol. 9, 1767). It purports to be a biography of the eponymous character. Its style is marked by digression, double entendre, and graphic devices. Sterne had read widely, which is reflected in "Tristram Shandy". Many of his similes, for
Journal to Eliza 22 year old wife of an East India Company official and sister of Rawson Hart Boddam. Her husband had brought her over here to recuperate from illness. Given both parties were already married, the relationship was regarded as scandalous. The author adopts the pseudonym Parson Yorick, who previously appeared in his two best known novels, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" and "A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy". In "Tristram Shandy" we are told that the parson is related to the famous, fictional jester Yorick whose skull is disinterred in Shakespeare’s "Hamlet:" "It has often come into