Laurence Sterne: A Life

Laurence Sterne: A Life by Ross, Ian Campbell. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780192122353.

"I wrote to be famous, not to be fed," said Laurence Sterne upon publication of his comic masterpiece, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. And indeed, almost overnight, Sterne achieved fame beyond his wildest dreams. In this fascinating biography, Ian Campbell Ross shows how the great comic author combined a genius for self-promotion with a clear grasp of the nascent business of publishing to soar across the cultural and social firmament of mid-18th century England. Ross begins with Sternes childhood in Yorkshire and follows the young gentlemans progress to Cambridge and then to the Church of England and a humdrum rural vicarage. He describes his unhappy marriage to a woman who suffered a nervous breakdown and at one time believed herself to be the Queen of Bohemia, as well as his many scandalous liaisons with other women, experiences that helped inform his Rabelaisian novel. But the heart of the book is Rosss account of the country parsons sudden rise to prominence, swept up in a frenzy of celebrity excessive even by todays standards. Ross draws us into the glamorous world of literary London--a world of power and privilege ruled by fashionable legislators of taste--showing how Sterne marketed himself, as well as his novel, by seeking favors from influential critics, famous authors, and even leading statesmen. Laurence Sterne: A Life is the first full biography to appear in fifteen years. Ian Campbell Ross makes deft use of recently discovered material, particularly a holograph of Sternes memoir, to shed new light on the man, his work, and the nature of celebrity.