Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy continues to be as widely read and admired as upon its first appearance. Deemed more accessible than Sterne’s Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and often assigned as a college text, A Sentimental Journey has received its share of critical attention, but—unlike Tristram Shandy—to date it has not been the subject of a dedicated anthology of critical essays. This volume fills that gap with fresh perspectives on Sterne’s novel that will appeal to students and critics alike. Together with an introduction that situates each essay within A Sentimental Journey’s reception history, and a tailpiece detailing the culmination of Sterne’s career and his death, this volume presents a cohesive approach to this significant text that is simultaneously grounded and revelatory.
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations and Conventions
W. B. Gerard and M-C. Newbould, “Introduction: A Sentimental Journey’s Critical Legacies.”
I. Men, Women, and other Animals
1. Shaun Regan, “Refining Masculinity in Yorick’s Journey: Courtesy, Chivalry, Gallantry.”
2. Julia Banister, “Yorick’s War: Patriot Politics, Military Men, and Willing Women in A Sentimental Journey.”
3. Glynis Ridley, “Sterne’s Journey into Animal Affect.”
II. Words, Structures, Things
4. Chris Ewers, “Spatial Digression and the Borders of Knowledge in A Sentimental Journey.”
5. Alexander Hardie-Forsyth, “(O)economy and Order: Laurence Sterne’s Chaptering.”
6. Fraser Easton, "Yorick's Speech and the Starling's Song: The Limits of Elocution in A Sentimental Journey"
7. Jennifer Preston Wilson, “Things of the Spirit: Vibrant Matter in A Sentimental Journey.”
III. Historical Contexts, Rewritten Texts
8. Melvyn New, “Boswell and Sterne in 1768.”
9. Peter Budrin, “The Shadow of Eliza: Sterne’s Underplot in A Sentimental Journey.”
10. Paul Goring, “Debt, Death, and Literary Inheritance: The Ends of Sterne and A Sentimental Journey.”
Pat Rogers, “Afterword”
Acknowledgments
Works Cited and Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors