Who was Laurence Sterne?
Novelist and Writer.
Date and Place of Birth:
24th November 1713, Clonmel, County Tipperary,
Ireland where his father's regiment was stationed.
Family Background:
Son of a penniless Ensign in Chudleigh’s Regiment
of Foot (although born a gentleman)under the Duke
of Marlborough and his wife Agnes (of relatively low birth).
Great-grandson of Richard Sterne, Archbishop of York
Education:
Hipperholme School, Halifax. Jesus College, Cambridge.
Chronology/Biography of Laurence Sterne:
1713: His father's
regiment was disbanded on the day of his birth and the family moved
back to Yorkshire.
1723: Went to school
in Halifax where he was taught greek and latin and stayed with his
wealthy uncle Ri chard..
1727: His father's
new regiment took part in the defence of Gibraltar. He received
a wound in a duel over the theft of a goose and never fully recovered.
1731: Death of his
father of a fever in Jamaica.
1733: Sterne went
up to Cambridge where he studied mathematics and logic. He was more
taken by literature and made a lifelong friend of fellow student
John-Hall Stevenson. He ran up large debts whilst a student which
were to dog him for some time.
1736: Receives a
BA.
1737: Ordained a
Deacon on the recommendation of his uncle Jaques who was precentor
and Canon of York
1738: Sterne appointed
vicar of Sutton-in-the-Forest, eight miles from York and was to
live the life of a country parson for the next 28 years.
1740: Received an
MA. Suffers from a hemorrhage of the lungs which was the first sign
of his consumption.
1741–42: Sterne
wrote political articles in support of Sir Robert Walpole for his
uncle's newspaper but soon had enough of politics and fell out with
his uncle as well who was a staunch Whig.
1743: Took on the
extra parish of Stillington. He was also a prebendary of York Minster.
York with the Minster in the Background
(© Anthony Blagg)
1747: Birth of his
daughter Lydia.
1758: His wife became
temporarily insane when she found out about his affair with a maidservant
and threatened suicide. She was taken away to a private house in
York. He had failed in his attempts at farming. His own health was
never good nor that of his daughter. It was around this time of
melancholy that he started writing "The Life and Opinions of
Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" which is one of the most joyful
books in the English language.
1759: Death of his
mother. Sterne wrote "A Political Romance" (later called
"The History of a Good Warm Watch-Coat") to support his
Dean which proved he could write but it also deeply upset the clergy
who ordered it to be burned.,
1760: First two volumes
of "Tristram Shandy" published in York and London and
Sterne became famous overnight. He went to London and stayed in
St Alban's Street where visitors would flock to his rooms. He was
also invited to all the most fashionable dinners in the capital
and he became known as a witty speaker. His characters, loosely
based on real people in York got him into trouble with local people
and Doctor Johnson complained of the innuendo
in the "Tristram Shandy." Although Elizabeth's state of
mind improved Sterne stayed in London and fell in love with a French
singer called Catherine Fourmantelle. In the summer he finally returned
to Yorkshire and the family took on a cottage in Coxwold which he
renamed Shandy Hall.
1761: Two more volumes
of "Tristram Shandy" were published and he went to London
to oversea their publication. He then went back to Shandy hall and
completed the fifth and sixth volumes. In December he suffered a
major hemorrhage of the lungs and he was advised to take a trip
to the South of France for his health.
1762: Set out for
Paris. He was accepted by polite society there as he had been in
London and his wife and daughter finally followed him. They then
moved on to Toulouse.
1763: They visited
the Pyrenees and over wintered in Montpelier.
1764: He decided
to return to England but Elizabeth and Lydia wanted to stay in France.
1765: The Seventh
and Eighth volumes of Tristram Shandy" were published. He then
went on a tour of France and Italy which he wrote about in his second
novel "A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy".
On his way back through France he met up with his wife who realised
that she could live better without him.
1766: Sterne returned
to England alone. His only companion now in Yorkshire was John Hall-Stevenson.
He was now short of money having spent most of his earnings on foreign
tours. Back in London in December he fell in love with Mrs Eliza
Draper from Bombay. After two months she went home to Bombay but
he never forgot her and wore her portrait around his neck.
1767: He returned
to Yorkshire and was visited by his wife and daughter. Sterne upped
their allowance so that they could move back to the South of France
and they were not with him when he died.
Written Works:
- 1747: Ordinary
sermons
- 1750: Ordinary
sermons
- 1759:
“A Political Romance”. (The History of a Good Warm Watch Coat),
"A Fragment in the Manner of Rabelais"
- 1760: “A
Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy”.
- 1765: "A
Sentimental Journey through France and Italy"
- 1773:
“Letters from Yorrick to Eliza”.
- 1775:
“Letters to his Friends on Various Occasions”.
Marriage:
1741 to Elizabeth Lumley in York Minster.
Date and Place of Death:
18th March 1768, 41 Old Bond Street, London,
England of consumption.
Age at Death:
55.
Site of Grave:
Remains removed from St. George's Burial Ground,
Hanover Square, London, England when it was closed in 1969 to St.
Michael's Church, Coxwold, Yorkshire, England (A rumour persists
that his body was stolen from London and sold for dissection to
the professor of anatomy at Cambridge. His features were said to
be recognised by a student at the dissecting table. His skeleton,
it is said, was for a long time preserved in the anatomy school
at Cambridge).
Places of Interest:
YORKSHIRE:
Sterne Museum at Shandy Hall, Coxwold, where
Sterne Moved in 1760.
York Minster.
