Lawrence Sterne (1713 69) was an Anglican clergyman best remembered as the author of the satirical and highly influential novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. After his ordination in 1738, Sterne led the life of a country vicar in Yorkshire, publishing a few satirical works before his masterpiece, which emerged in nine volumes between 1759 and 1767. The first two volumes were an immediate success, bringing him wealth, fame, and a place at the heart of contemporary English literary society. This work, published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1882 by the...