Laurence Sterne in France

Description

The early reception of Laurence Sterne in France was vocal and controversial, reflecting the literary and social upheaval of the period. This monograph is the first recent full-length study of the topic, and offers original readings of Sterne and his French interpreters, such as Voltaire, Diderot, Suard, and Julie de Lespinasse, placing them within the context of eighteenth-century French culture, its critical debates and Anglo-French literary relations. Drawing on contemporary reception theory, Lana Asfour analyzes the criticism, translations and imitations of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey from 1760 to 1800, and stresses key moments at which both texts were read against the expectations of audiences familiar with comic, satiric, picaresque and sentimental traditions. She also explores the role of literary celebrity, theories of translation, and ideas of originality and imagination. Recent criticism has debated whether Sterne's work should be considered in relation to older, comic-satiric forms of writing or within the context of the genre of the novel. This study shows that such a divide was already present in early French responses and yet, in presenting their diversity and complexity, it suggests that the dichotomy is reductive, and that Sterne's reception history in France can contribute to modern readings of his work.

Lana Asfour teaches in the Faculty of Arts at The Open University in London, UK.

A [...] nuanced account of the reception and influence of Sterne in France from 1760-1800 emerges from Lana Asfour's carefully researched and lucidly written Laurence Sterne in France. * The Times Literary Supplement * An essential source for the French reception of Sterne and translation studies, exhaustively researched and well-written; supplanting at long last Barton's survey of Sterne in France, this will be the definitive treatment of the subject for years to come. -- Peter de Voogd, editor of The Shandean [This] account would appeal to a wide range of readers interested in Sterne's novels, eighteenth-century fiction, the art of translation, or French literary culture. During her Continental journey, Asfour expertly guides the reader and clearly explains French literary tradition, as well as the critical terms employed by French critics, before an in-depth investigation of Sterne's reception...Asfour's investigation illuminates a number of little-known yet fascinating French literary sources...the author should be congratulated. So far, Laurence Sterne in France is the most accomplished monograph on the afterlife of Sterne's fiction. * Modern Language Review * A successful journalist, with constant contributions to such prestigious publications as The Times, The Observer and The New Statesman, Lana Asfour is also an accomplished literary scholar, as her magisterial work on the reception of Sterne in France amply demonstrates. Laurence Sterne in France displays all the usual Oxonian rigours: lucid and persuasive argumentation, critical brevity and a clear and accessible style. -- Catalin Ghita, University of Craiova * BARS Bulletin * ...as far as the reception of Sterne is concerned, this is an extremely thorough and well-researched study. Throughout, Asfour has a keen eye for the entertaining anecdote...Asfour demonstrates convincingly how Sterne's reputation as an author grew in part because of anecdotes about his time in Paris...Those interested in early literary celebrity will find much to amuse them in the biographical sections of this work. This monograph supersedes Francis Brown Barton's 1911 Etude sur l'influence de Sterne en France au dix-huitieme siecle, and is an important contribution to the study of Sterne, and of French translation and reception of English literature. * Translation and Literature, 2009 *