This new Penguin Classics edition features an introduction that discusses the novel in relation to Sterne' s other writing and places it within the context of 'sentimental' literature. With 'A Sentimental Journey,' as well as his masterpiece, 'Tristram Shandy,' Sterne forged a truly original style and established himself as the first of the stream-of-consciousness writers. Sterne' s tale rapidly moves away from the narrative of travel to become a series of dramatic sketches, ironic incidents, philosophical musings, reminiscences, and anecdotes sharp wit is mixed with gaiety, irony with tender feeling. It records the adventures of the amiable Parson Yorick, as he sets off on his travels through France and Italy, relishing his encounters with all manner of men and women-particularly the pretty ones. 'A Sentimental Journey' is a novel without a plot, a journey without a destination.
Interweaving sharp wit with warm humour, irony with sentiment, A Sentimental Journey paints a captivating picture of an Englishman's adventures abroad. And as drama piles upon drama, anecdote, flirtation and digression, Yorick's destination takes second place to an exhilarating voyage of emotional and erotic exploration. Jolting along in his coach from Calais, through Paris, and on towards the Italian border, the amiable parson is blithely unconcerned by famous views or monuments, but he engages us with tales of his encounters with all manner of people, from counts and noblewomen to beggars and chambermaids. When Yorick, the roving narrator of Sterne's innovative final novel, sets off for France on a whim, he produces no ordinary travelogue.
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