The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (or, more briefly, Tristram Shandy) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next ten years. It was not always highly thought of by other writers, but its bawdy humour was popular with London society. Today, it is seen as a forerunner of later stream of consciousness writing.
The novel, as it stands, is seen by some as an elaborate and ingeniously-executed pun. Given that it took a decade and hundreds of pages of text to complete, it is likely that the famous pun that concludes the novel is not the sole reason that Sterne penned the work.
