When the first two books of Tristram Shandy were published in 1759, most readers were delighted. Some of them ceased to laugh, however, when they discovered that the writer was a parson of the church. At any rate, Sterne became a celebrity overnight, and many famous people received him and applauded him; they called him "Tristram" or "Parson Yorick," identifying him completely with his book. Samuel Johnson thought him smutty and too peculiar in his writing, but when Oliver Goldsmith suggested that Sterne was dull, Johnson replied, "Why, no, Sir." Sterne reveled in his popularity and prosperity, and he commuted between York and London, reaping the fruits of fame.
The years between 1759 and 1768 were intensely busy ones for him. He wrote his five installments of Tristram, several volumes of Sermons of Mr. Yorick, and at the end of the period, A Sentimental Journey. He struggled very hard to enjoy his life, having adequate proofs that it was not to last for very long; he hoped to find in relationships with women some recompense for the emptiness of his marriage. No doubt he did, since whatever was ideal in those relationships came in large part from his imagination.
Looking for a climate that would deal more gently with his damaged lungs, he spent a good deal of time between 1762 and 1765 in France. His wife and daughter were happy there, and he finally settled them there permanently. His time in France furnished him with the material for Book 7 of Tristram, as well as for the charming and successful Sentimental Journey.
This latter volume, a slim one, has won the hearts of readers and critics consistently during its years of existence (February 1768). The delicacy of the book pleases everyone, but there is still a lot of Sternean muscle rippling robustly under the skin. The complexity of life throbs beneath the surface of Tristram Shandy; A Sentimental Journey gives us Sterne's warm and gentle farewell to a life that gave him much satisfaction and delight. He died less than a month after it was published, at the pinnacle of his fame.
