"A few years ago someone took a poll of graduating college seniors asking them which of the texts assigned during their college careers they most hated. Tristram Shandy won." (33. Cash, Arthur H. "A South West Passage to the Intellectual World." Approaches to Teaching Sterne's Tristram Shandy. New, Melvyn, ed. New York: MLA, 1989. 33-40)

In 1759, Laurence Sterne published the first volume of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Nearly two hundred and fifty years later, his novel still intrigues readers. As one of the pioneers of the English novel, Sterne's style is very different than that of his contemporaries such as Samuel Richardson, Daniel Defoe, and Henry Fielding. Although these writers wrote great stories that have endured the test of time, Sterne's work has a certain appeal to the twentieth century mind.

In this project I attempt to tackle the question of why this novel, written in the middle of the eighteenth century, speaks to me now in the twenty-first century. What is it about the style that is so different than that of eighteenth century writers that appeals to the twenty-first century mind? In my research, I have found that I am not alone. Others are intrigued, in one way or another, by the enigma. American poet William Michaelian wrote this poem about Tristram Shandy.

I present this in a web-based format mainly because I see Sterne as a forerunner to the concept of hypertext: linking ostensibly random events, providing forays from the main story into background material and anecdotes, and simply taking readers on a romp that should be fun and interesting. This is the essence of Laurence Sterne and his famous protagonist Tristram Shandy.

The links at the bottom of each page will direct you through major sections of my project. Various links within the text will bring you information particular to that topic, sometimes a clarification, sometimes another web stie.