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SIGNED 7V Sterne TRISTRAM SHANDY 1763-1767 Leathe

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Notes: Bound in handsome calfskin with gilt embossing and raised spine bands, these books are from a rare early edition of Tristram Shandy, a popular English comic novel that is said to have directly influenced the writings of Gogol, Thomas Jefferson, and James Joyce. This collection includes volumes 1-4, 6, 8 and 9 of the original set of nine volumes; the ninth volume is signed by the author, "L. Sterne", in pen on the first text page.
Laurence Sterne (November 24, 1713 – March 18, 1768) was an Irish-born English novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics. Sterne is best known for his novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, for which he became famous not only in England, but throughout Europe. Translations of the work began to appear in all the major European languages almost upon its publication, and Sterne influenced European writers as diverse as Diderot and the German Romanticists. His work had also noticeable influence over Brazilian author Machado de Assis, who made exceptional (and outstandingly original) usage of the digressive technique in the masterful novel Epitaph for a Small Winner. Indeed, the novel, in which Sterne manipulates narrative time and voice, parodies accepted narrative form, and includes a healthy dose of "bawdy" humor, was largely dismissed in England as being too corrupt. Samuel Johnson's verdict in 1776 was that "Nothing odd will do long. Tristram Shandy did not last." This is strikingly different from the views of European critics of the day, who praised Sterne and Tristram Shandy as innovative and superior. Voltaire called it "clearly superior to Rabelais", and later Goethe praised Sterne as "the most beautiful spirit that ever lived." Both during his life and for a long time after, efforts were made by many to reclaim Sterne as an arch-sentimentalist; parts of Tristram Shandy, such as the tale of Le Fever, were excerpted and published separately to wide acclaim from the moralists of the day. The success of the novel and its serialized nature also allowed many imitators to publish pamphlets concerning the Shandean characters and other Shandean-related material even while the novel was yet unfinished.
The volumes show mild external wear, with the leather boards handsome and intact with very slight cracking at the spine. The book is solidly bound with clean, lightly age toned pages free of any tears or marks other than the author's signature. The books measure approximately 3.5" x 6". Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $6.50

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