Laurence Sterne was born in Ireland in 1713, and he died in London in 1768. He might have died much earlier because of his weak lungs, especially considering how much he laughed, but he managed to live long enough to give his countrymen and the world two great books, Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey.
The influence of these two books went beyond the country and century in which they were written. French, German, Italian, and English sentimental journeys were a glut on the literary market, and Tristram-Shandeism not only engendered hundreds of silly imitations in Sterne's own time, but it also influenced great writers down to the present — Goethe, Mann, Gide, Joyce, to mention a few.
Steme was an unimportant person who suddenly became important — for many people, notorious — in 1759. His background was undistinguished. The son of an army ensign, he grew up in army garrisons. There he learned about soldiers, and without that knowledge and experience, he could not have made Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim as convincing as they are.
With the help of relatives, he went to Cambridge. After graduating in 1737, he entered the Church of England and, again with the help of relatives, became vicar of Sutton (and, subsequently, of Stillington) in Yorkshire. It was a comfortable enough way to make a living, and it did not require great effort or special piety. Several years later, he married a woman with whom he never got along, Elizabeth Lumley, and they had a child whom he adored, Lydia. It is quite unlikely that he could have gotten along with any woman who didn't match him in imagination, ingenuity, and capriciousness. As it was, Mrs. Steme went officially mad for a period of time and was probably unofficially mad for most of her life. Sterne and his wife agreed not to disagree, but his happiest moments were those when they lived apart.
During his time of country living — pre-Tristram Shandy days — he consoled himself with the pleasure available in York. It was not London, but neither was it the backwoods. In addition, he had a special group of friends, a men's club, called the "Demoniacks," chief among whom was John Hall-Stevenson, the proprietor of a crazy castle named "Crazy Castle." Most likely they gathered to get away from their wives, to drink and carouse, and to pretend to be rakes; without doubt, they read to each other bawdy passages from their favorite books. One of the important consequences of this symposium was the irreverent attitude toward literature, the willingness to poke fun at "important" authors and important people, that permeates Tristram Shandy. Imagining an ideal, appreciative audience is important to an author; whimsy that is directed toward a group of friends who understand and laugh in response has a greater chance of success.
