Discover Laurence Sterne’s playful and revolutionary travel narrative, ‘A Sentimental Journey,’ and read the complete book online for free.
Published in 1768, just weeks before his death, Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy is one of the most original and influential books ever written about travel. It is not a guidebook or a factual account, but a “sentimental” journey—a record of the narrator’s fleeting feelings, delicate sympathies, and humorous encounters as he travels under the guise of the charming and sensitive Reverend Mr. Yorick. The journey is abruptly unfinished (the book ends mid-sentence with the famous line “So that when I stretched out my hand, I caught hold of the Fille de Chambre’s—”), emphasizing that the destination is irrelevant; it is the moments of human connection along the way that matter.
Sterne reacts against the dry, factual travelogues of his day. Yorick’s travels are a series of vignettes: helping a mendicant friar, buying mourning gloves, flirting with a fair fille de chambre, and sympathizing with a dead donkey. The prose is digressive, playful, and filled with asterisks, dashes, and suggestive pauses that invite the reader to complete the thought or scene. It is a celebration of sensibility—the capacity for refined feeling and empathy—which was a central 18th-century ideal, though Sterne often gently mocks its excesses even as he practices it.
A Sentimental Journey is a landmark in the literature of subjectivity. It demonstrated that the inner landscape of the traveler—his whims, his embarrassments, his moments of kindness and lust—could be more fascinating than any cathedral or mountain. It directly influenced later travel writers and novelists, from Dickens to Hemingway, showing that the truth of an experience lies in its emotional impression, not its objective description.
On this page, you can embark on Sterne’s unique literary voyage. We offer the complete 1768 text for online reading.
Book Info
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy |
| Author | Laurence Sterne |
| Year of Publication | 1768 |
| Genre | Travel Literature, Sentimental Novel, Fiction |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Legal Status | Public Domain |
| Format | Online Reading |
Read A Sentimental Journey Online
Travel with feeling, not with a guidebook. Begin Yorick’s charming and episodic journey by exploring the first chapters interactively below.
This preview introduces Yorick’s sensitive persona, but the full series of his witty, poignant, and unfinished adventures is available in the complete text for our subscribers.
A subscription unlocks this Sterne classic and our library of innovative and playful literature. Take a journey where the heart is the only compass.
About A Sentimental Journey
The book’s form is its meaning. It is fragmented, focused on micro-moments, and privileges emotional truth over factual reporting.
Yorick: The Man of Feeling
Yorick (named after the jester in Hamlet) is a self-conscious performer of sensibility. He is acutely aware of his own feelings and strives to act with benevolence, though his motives are often mixed with vanity and desire. He is the archetype of the sensitive, modern traveler for whom every encounter is a potential moral or emotional anecdote.
The Aesthetics of the Fragment
Sterne believes meaning is found in glimpses, not grand narratives. The book is composed of short chapters with titles like “The Snuff-Box. Calais.” or “The Dead Ass. Nampont.” Each is a self-contained emotional episode. The famous unfinished ending is the ultimate fragment, suggesting that life—and travel—is an interrupted conversation, a series of moments without a neat conclusion.
Sensibility and Its Discontents
Sterne both champions and subtly satirizes the cult of sensibility. Yorick’s tears are genuine, but his readiness to weep can also be comical. The book asks: Is this heightened sensitivity a mark of moral refinement, or a form of self-indulgence? Sterne leaves the question delightfully open.
Travel as an Internal State
The “France and Italy” of the title are almost incidental. We learn little about their geography or monuments. Instead, we learn about the state of Yorick’s heart as he moves through them. The journey is a metaphor for the wandering, associative nature of consciousness itself. It is an inward trip wearing the clothes of an outward one.
Why Read A Sentimental Journey Today?
In an age of Instagram travel—where experience is often curated and reduced to highlights—Sterne’s focus on the small, the awkward, the emotionally resonant moment is a refreshing antidote. It’s a book that teaches us to travel more slowly and to value human connection over checklist tourism.
It is also a brilliant, funny, and deeply human work. Sterne’s mastery of suggestion and his warm, ironic voice make him a wonderfully companionable guide. To read A Sentimental Journey is to be reminded that the most important souvenirs we bring back from a trip are not things, but the memories of shared smiles, fleeting kindnesses, and the sudden, unexpected stirrings of the heart.
FAQ
Can I read A Sentimental Journey for free?
Yes, you can read the beginning for free via our interactive preview. Access to the complete book requires a subscription.
Do I need to read Tristram Shandy first?
No, it stands alone perfectly. Yorick is a character from Shandy, but here he is the sole protagonist, and the book has its own self-contained charm. Reading Shandy will deepen your appreciation of Sterne’s style, but it’s not necessary.
Why does it end so abruptly?
The mid-sentence ending is deliberate. It reflects the unfinished nature of life and experience. It’s a final, playful jab at readers who expect a conventional narrative with a clear resolution. The implication is that the journey—and the flirtation—continue.
Is it sentimental in the modern, negative sense?
No. “Sentimental” in the 18th century meant “pertaining to or characterized by sentiment or feeling,” and was a positive quality of refined empathy. Sterne explores this ideal with both sincerity and humor.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. Its short, episodic chapters are ideal for reading in brief sittings on a mobile device.