Cover of A Political Romance

A Political Romance

  • Free to read
  • 40 min read
  • 6 chapters
  • Reading level: 10th to 12th grade

"A Political Romance" by Laurence Sterne is a satirical pamphlet published in 1759. This allegorical work transforms a bitter church career dispute into a comic village squabble over used clothing. Written to support his patron in an embarrassing ecclesiastical rivalry, Sterne's sharp satire was so effective that the Archbishop of York demanded all copies be burned. Though suppressed immediately after publication, this first venture into fiction proved a turning point: at age 46, Sterne discovered his gift for humorous writing and soon began his celebrated novel "Tristram Shandy."

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  • Fiction

Read the opening

Sir

In my last, for want of something better to write about, I told you what a World of Fending and Proving we have had of late, in this little Village of ours, about an old-cast-Pair-of-black-Plush-Breeches, which John, our Parish-Clerk, about ten Years ago, it seems, had made a Promise of to one Trim, who is our Sexton and Dog-Whipper.—To this you write me Word, that you have had more than either one or two Occasions to know a good deal of the shifty Behaviour of this said Master Trim,—and that you are astonished, nor can you for your Soul conceive, how so worthless a Fellow, and so worthless a Thing into the Bargain, could become the Occasion of such a Racket as I have represented.

Now, though you do not say expressly, you could wish to hear any more about it, yet I see plain enough that I have raised your Curiosity; and therefore, from the same Motive, that I slightly mentioned it at all in my last Letter, I will, in this, give you a full and very circumstantial Account of the whole Affair.

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Contents

  1. Sir
  2. Memorandum
  3. Postscript
  4. The Key
  5. Sir
  6. Sir

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About this edition

This free edition of A Political Romance by Laurence Sterne comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #20257, released 2007-01-02. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Humour, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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