ISBN The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman book

Read read read read my unlearned reader! read...' Sterne's great comic novel is the fictional autobiography of Tristram Shandy a hero who fails even to get born in the first two volumes. It contains some of the best-known and best-loved characters in English literature including Uncle Toby Corporal Trim Parson Yorick Dr Slop and the Widow Wadman. Beginning with Tristram's conception the novel recounts his progress in 'this scurvy and disasterous world of ours' including his misnaming during baptism and his accidental circumcision by a falling sash-window at the age of five; unsurprisingly Tristram declares that he has been 'the continual sport of what the world calls Fortune'. Tristram Shandy also offers the narrator's 'opinions' at once facetious and highly serious on books and learning in an age of rapidly expanding print culture and on the changing understanding of the roles of writers and readers alike. This revised edition retains the first edition text incorporating Sterne's later changes and adds two original Hogarth illustrations and a wealth of contextualizing information. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study and much more.