Laurence Sterne and the Eighteenth-Century Book

Helen Williams examines Sterne's fiction through a book history lens, exploring interdisciplinary sources such as dance manuals, letter-writing handbooks, newspaper advertisements, medical pamphlets, and disposable packaging to re-define the origins of his work and the eighteenth-century novel. This study sheds new light on Sterne and eighteenth-century literature by re-defining the origins of his work and the eighteenth-century novel.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 227 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Through a book history lens, Helen Williams offers fresh interpretations of Sterne's fiction by meticulously examining the material and bibliographical context of his work. Alongside numerous editions and manuscripts of Sterne's own letters and works, a diverse range of interdisciplinary sources are explored, including dance manuals, letter-writing handbooks, newspaper advertisements, medical pamphlets, and disposable packaging. For the first time, this wealth of previously overlooked material is critically analyzed in relation to the design history of Tristram Shandy, conceptualizing the eighteenth-century novel as an artifact that evolved in close conjunction with other media. By examining the intricate interplay between a period's literature and the print matter of everyday life, this study sheds new light on Sterne and eighteenth-century literature by redefining the origins of his work and the eighteenth-century novel more broadly. It also introduces readers to diverse print cultural forms and their production histories.

ISBN-13: 9781108822602