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A Political Romance
A Political Romance is a satirical pamphlet by Laurence Sterne, first published in 1759. The story is an allegory, translating the jockeying for paid appointments within the Church of England into a squabble for used clothing within a small country parish. Stylistically, it is influenced by the satirists Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
Sterne wrote the pamphlet in an attempt to improve his career as a clergyman in the Church of England. Sterne's patron John Fountayne had an ongoing rivalry with another ecclesiastical figure, Francis Topham; in 1758, Topham began a pamphlet war airing some of his longstanding grievances. Sterne's A Political Romance was the fourth and final pamphlet in the debate. It harshly mocks Topham, supporting Fountayne's version of events. After the allegorical narrative, the work includes an equally-satirical key, and two letters by Sterne. The pamphlet was suppressed soon after publication: the Archbishop of York considered it embarrassing, and requested Sterne to burn all available copies. He did so, keeping only his original manuscript; until 1905, it was believed that all original printed copies were lost, and only six accidental survivors are now known.
Despite the poor reception of the pamphlet, it provided a crucial turning point in Sterne's career. The short satire was his first work of fiction; having discovered his talent for humour writing at the age of 46, he dedicated the rest of his life to it. His highly successful serial novel, Tristram Shandy (1759–67), began to appear within the year.
At the time of writing, Sterne was an Anglican clergyman in Sutton-on-the-Forest, North Yorkshire, hoping to gain a better position from John Fountayne, the Dean of York.Fountayne was a college acquaintance of Sterne's; when Fountayne was appointed as Dean in 1747, Sterne looked to him for patronage. Among other favours for Fountayne, Sterne maintained copies of all of Fountayne's correspondence with an ambitious ecclesiastical lawyer, Francis Topham, documenting their bitter rivalry. Topham felt that Fountayne unfairly overlooked him when granting the land patent for Pocklington and Pickering, which Fountayne gave to a Dr. Braithwaite and then (in 1751) to Sterne. Topham spread a rumour that Fountayne had promised him the post and betrayed his word, prompting Fountayne and Sterne to denounce Topham's version of events at a public dinner. Other grievances included a disagreement about a temporary preacher to be appointed at York Minster, and another minor post that Fountayne granted to a William Stables rather than to Topham. In 1758, Topham wanted John Gilbert (the new Archbishop of York) to grant him a prestigious post permanently, removing the ability for future archbishops to redistribute the post. Fountayne opposed Topham and the post was not granted, spurring Topham to lash out publicly in what became a small pamphlet war. Although the pamphlets primarily address the decade-old conflict about Pocklington and Pickering, Sterne's A Political Romance firmly argues that Topham's motivation was the more recent snub from the archbishop.
The first pamphlet published about the conflict was Topham's, published 11 December 1758. Its full title was A Letter Address'd to the Reverend the Dean of York; In which is given, A full Detail of some very extraordinary Behavior of his, in relation to his Denial of a Promise made by him to Dr. Topham (1758). This 24-page open letter criticizes Fountayne both for granting the Pocklington and Pickering patent to someone else, and for claiming in public that he had never promised it to Topham. It also mentions a range of unrelated conflicts between the two. It was followed two weeks later by Fountayne's reply, An Answer to a Letter Address'd to the Dean of York, in the Name of Dr. Topham (1758). Fountayne's 35-page pamphlet reproduces several letters from Topham, in which Topham agreed to allow someone else to receive the patent; Fountayne explains that he did not consider himself under any further obligation to Topham. Fountayne also quotes letters of support from many of his acquaintances, and includes a signed statement from Sterne describing the dinner where he and Fountayne publicly denounced Topham as a liar. At this point, both pamphlets were widely read in York, and a number of broadsides were printed mocking the participants. Topham responded with A Reply to the Answer to a Letter, Lately addressed to the Dean of York (1759), a 54-page rebuttal which also quotes letters and messages from supporters, which was published no earlier than 13 January 1759. Sterne's A Political Romance, completed a week later, was the fourth and final pamphlet. It was intended to advance Sterne's career in the church by supporting Fountayne's side.
An additional target of the pamphlet's satire was a York gentlemen's club known as the Good Humour Club. There is no evidence that Sterne ever attended a meeting of the club, but he was aware of its existence and knew many of its members, who were prominent in York society. The club was active from around 1725 to at least 1800. It permitted a maximum of eighteen members at a time (elected by a majority of current members), and met weekly at a local tavern or coffee house. Like many similar clubs at the time, the group's activities primarily consisted of informal socializing and drinking. Unusually, all members referred to each other with the honorific of "doctor", which also gave the club the nickname of the "Doctors' Club".
The president of the club, a surgeon named Isaac Newton, was mentioned in all three of the pamphlets preceding Sterne's. Topham asserted that Newton privately supported Topham's account of events; Fountayne rebutted with a letter from Newton, stating that Newton only seemed to do so under duress; and Topham replied with testimonials from two more club members, Theophilus Garencieres and Arthur Ricard, to support his version of events.
A Political Romance begins with a 24-page epistolary account of some local village gossip. Ten years ago, a local sexton and dog-whipper, Trim, asked the parish clerk, John, to give him a pair of John's black plush breeches whenever John was done with them. John agreed. John later quarreled with the parson of the parish about a writing desk; in the quarrel, Trim sided with the parson, and the parson rewarded him with a fine outfit. To express his allegiance to the parson over John, Trim renounced his claim to the breeches. John therefore gave them to another friend, Mark Slender, whose request John had previously denied in favour of Trim. John also gave a pulpit-cloth and velvet cushion to William Doe. Mark Slender soon died, and the breeches were given to Lorry Slim.
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A Political Romance
A Political Romance is a satirical pamphlet by Laurence Sterne, first published in 1759. The story is an allegory, translating the jockeying for paid appointments within the Church of England into a squabble for used clothing within a small country parish. Stylistically, it is influenced by the satirists Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
Sterne wrote the pamphlet in an attempt to improve his career as a clergyman in the Church of England. Sterne's patron John Fountayne had an ongoing rivalry with another ecclesiastical figure, Francis Topham; in 1758, Topham began a pamphlet war airing some of his longstanding grievances. Sterne's A Political Romance was the fourth and final pamphlet in the debate. It harshly mocks Topham, supporting Fountayne's version of events. After the allegorical narrative, the work includes an equally-satirical key, and two letters by Sterne. The pamphlet was suppressed soon after publication: the Archbishop of York considered it embarrassing, and requested Sterne to burn all available copies. He did so, keeping only his original manuscript; until 1905, it was believed that all original printed copies were lost, and only six accidental survivors are now known.
Despite the poor reception of the pamphlet, it provided a crucial turning point in Sterne's career. The short satire was his first work of fiction; having discovered his talent for humour writing at the age of 46, he dedicated the rest of his life to it. His highly successful serial novel, Tristram Shandy (1759–67), began to appear within the year.
At the time of writing, Sterne was an Anglican clergyman in Sutton-on-the-Forest, North Yorkshire, hoping to gain a better position from John Fountayne, the Dean of York.Fountayne was a college acquaintance of Sterne's; when Fountayne was appointed as Dean in 1747, Sterne looked to him for patronage. Among other favours for Fountayne, Sterne maintained copies of all of Fountayne's correspondence with an ambitious ecclesiastical lawyer, Francis Topham, documenting their bitter rivalry. Topham felt that Fountayne unfairly overlooked him when granting the land patent for Pocklington and Pickering, which Fountayne gave to a Dr. Braithwaite and then (in 1751) to Sterne. Topham spread a rumour that Fountayne had promised him the post and betrayed his word, prompting Fountayne and Sterne to denounce Topham's version of events at a public dinner. Other grievances included a disagreement about a temporary preacher to be appointed at York Minster, and another minor post that Fountayne granted to a William Stables rather than to Topham. In 1758, Topham wanted John Gilbert (the new Archbishop of York) to grant him a prestigious post permanently, removing the ability for future archbishops to redistribute the post. Fountayne opposed Topham and the post was not granted, spurring Topham to lash out publicly in what became a small pamphlet war. Although the pamphlets primarily address the decade-old conflict about Pocklington and Pickering, Sterne's A Political Romance firmly argues that Topham's motivation was the more recent snub from the archbishop.
The first pamphlet published about the conflict was Topham's, published 11 December 1758. Its full title was A Letter Address'd to the Reverend the Dean of York; In which is given, A full Detail of some very extraordinary Behavior of his, in relation to his Denial of a Promise made by him to Dr. Topham (1758). This 24-page open letter criticizes Fountayne both for granting the Pocklington and Pickering patent to someone else, and for claiming in public that he had never promised it to Topham. It also mentions a range of unrelated conflicts between the two. It was followed two weeks later by Fountayne's reply, An Answer to a Letter Address'd to the Dean of York, in the Name of Dr. Topham (1758). Fountayne's 35-page pamphlet reproduces several letters from Topham, in which Topham agreed to allow someone else to receive the patent; Fountayne explains that he did not consider himself under any further obligation to Topham. Fountayne also quotes letters of support from many of his acquaintances, and includes a signed statement from Sterne describing the dinner where he and Fountayne publicly denounced Topham as a liar. At this point, both pamphlets were widely read in York, and a number of broadsides were printed mocking the participants. Topham responded with A Reply to the Answer to a Letter, Lately addressed to the Dean of York (1759), a 54-page rebuttal which also quotes letters and messages from supporters, which was published no earlier than 13 January 1759. Sterne's A Political Romance, completed a week later, was the fourth and final pamphlet. It was intended to advance Sterne's career in the church by supporting Fountayne's side.
An additional target of the pamphlet's satire was a York gentlemen's club known as the Good Humour Club. There is no evidence that Sterne ever attended a meeting of the club, but he was aware of its existence and knew many of its members, who were prominent in York society. The club was active from around 1725 to at least 1800. It permitted a maximum of eighteen members at a time (elected by a majority of current members), and met weekly at a local tavern or coffee house. Like many similar clubs at the time, the group's activities primarily consisted of informal socializing and drinking. Unusually, all members referred to each other with the honorific of "doctor", which also gave the club the nickname of the "Doctors' Club".
The president of the club, a surgeon named Isaac Newton, was mentioned in all three of the pamphlets preceding Sterne's. Topham asserted that Newton privately supported Topham's account of events; Fountayne rebutted with a letter from Newton, stating that Newton only seemed to do so under duress; and Topham replied with testimonials from two more club members, Theophilus Garencieres and Arthur Ricard, to support his version of events.
A Political Romance begins with a 24-page epistolary account of some local village gossip. Ten years ago, a local sexton and dog-whipper, Trim, asked the parish clerk, John, to give him a pair of John's black plush breeches whenever John was done with them. John agreed. John later quarreled with the parson of the parish about a writing desk; in the quarrel, Trim sided with the parson, and the parson rewarded him with a fine outfit. To express his allegiance to the parson over John, Trim renounced his claim to the breeches. John therefore gave them to another friend, Mark Slender, whose request John had previously denied in favour of Trim. John also gave a pulpit-cloth and velvet cushion to William Doe. Mark Slender soon died, and the breeches were given to Lorry Slim.