Tristram Shandy. By Laurence Sterne. Illustrations by T.M. Cleland. Collector’s Edition. Easton Press. Norwalk, 1980.

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, first published as installments between 1759 and 1767, is considered one of the most important early novels in English. It describes the domestic life of its eponymous character, told with bawdy and social humor. Its author, Laurence Sterne, was a bookish Anglo-Irish cleric who imbued the work with a plethora of political, literary, and philosophical references to contemporary works. For these qualities, Tristram Shandy is usually classified as a literary descendent of Don Quixote and a progenitor of British satires and social commentaries as well as an early influence on the Modernist novel. Yet however it is classified, there is no denying its importance in the British literary canon. Tristram Shandy shaped much of what is read today.

This collector’s edition is in fine condition. In the original leather, finely gilt stamped. Raised bands. Gilt spine label. Text block fine. Gilt edges. Silk moire endpapers and bookmark sewn in. With the publisher’s notice slip laid in. 

A handsome collector’s copy of Tristram Shandy, wonderfully illustrated.