LAURENCE STERNE (1713-1768) (for text see page 179); last but not east of these novelists, was born in Ireland, of English parents. He entered the Church and gave his time to books, hunting, fiddling and shooting. He is known for two works, his novel Trigtram Shandy and his travel book A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768). ‘Tristram Shandy’ is usually called a novel just because there js no other name to define it. It is a narrative about everything — birth and-death, joys and sorrows, wit and folly — not linked together by any consistent’ plot.