Volumes 1 and 2 of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman first came out in a very small edition in December 1759. There was no imprint on the title-page, and therefore no indication that the book was published in (provincial) York; nor was the author mentioned, the only text being the title, a motto, and a date; the motto, in Greek type, would have puzzled the many who could not read Greek. It reached (and conquered) the London market the next year, in April 1760; volumes 3 and 4 came out in January 1761, and volumes 5 and 6 in December of the same year; then illness struck, Sterne travelled to France for his health, and volumes 7 and 8 had to wait until January 1765; a lone volume 9 finally came out in January 1767. It is clear from Sterne’s correspondence that he was
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Citation: de Voogd, Peter. "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 March 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=350, accessed 23 November 2024.]
