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This book is an annotated edition of The Correspondents: An Original Novel (1775), a work, as the introduction argues, derived from A Sentimental Journey, and one of the best of the many later efforts to capture Sterne’s unique blend of sensibility and sensuality. The introduction will make the case for its authorship being an actual exchange of love letters between George Lord Lyttelton (1709–1773) and Apphia Peach Lyttelton (1743–1840), his daughter-in-law, 30 years younger than her father-in-law at the time of the exchange. In our inability to understand precisely what happened between the two is the genius of their imitation of Sterne. It is an ambiguity that results from the conscious reshaping of the original letters into a narrative, probably by Apphia Peach in the 2 years between Lyttelton’s death and its publication.
“There are several reasons to read this carefully edited novel: (1) the letters comprising it conjure three sensibilities—the two correspondents’ and Laurence Sterne’s; (2) the Lyttelton of these pages is the Bluestocking Lyttelton, whose preferred soulmates were gifted women; (3) the novel lavishly celebrates male/female ‘intercourse.’” — Deborah Heller, Professor of English, Western New Mexico University, Author of Bluestockings Now!: The Evolution of a Social Role (2015)
Works Frequently Cited; Introduction; Textual Note; The Correspondents; Annotations to The Correspondents; Appendices; Index