# 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 preferments within the church 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 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.

## Background

At the time of writing, Sterne was a clergyman in Sutton-on-the-Forest, hoping to gain a better position from John Fountayne, the new 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 favors for Fountayne, Sterne maintained copies of all of Fountayne's correspondence with an ambitious ecclesiastical lawyer, Francis Topham, documenting their bitter rivalry. Fountayne made Sterne the commissary to the peculiar of Pocklington and Pickering in 1751. Topham claimed that this post provided an income of roughly ten pounds a year; Fountayne said the profits were five guineas a year.
A Political Romance was intended to advance Sterne's career in the church. It was the fourth and final pamphlet in a small pamphlet war between Fountayne and Topham that took place in 1758 and 1759. Topham felt he had been unfairly overlooked for the land patent for Pocklington and Pickering, which Fountayne instead granted to a Dr. Braithwaite and then to Sterne. Other grievances included a disagreement about the key to the pulpit at York Minster, and another minor post that Fountane granted to a William Stables rather than to Topham. In 1758, Topham wanted John Gilbert, the new Archbishop of York, to permantly grant him a prestigious post, removing the ability for future archbiships to redistribute the post. Fountayne opposed Topham in this matter, spurring the pamphlet war. Although the pamphlets primarily address the decade-old conflict about the minor land patent, 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 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 patent to someone else, and for claiming in public that he had never promised it to Topham. It also mentioned 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, and 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 recounting the events of a particular social gathering where Sterne and Fountayne publicly exposed 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. This was followed by Sterne's A Political Romance.

## Synopsis

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 be given 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.
A new parson arrives in town after the death of the previous one. Trim tells the new parson that John is untrustworthy, and asks to be given an old watch-coat. Despite excessive obsequious favours from Trim, the parson hesitates to make the gift until he can determine whether the coat belongs to anybody. Just as the parson discovers that it is a precious heirloom, Trim seizes the coat and deconstructs it to make it into an under-petticoat for his wife. Angry, the parson calls on the clerk, John, to record Trim's misdoings, poor character, and expulsion from the parson's house. Trim therefore revives the previous matter of the breeches, criticizing John in the town square for (he claims) breaking his promise and for mis-appropriating the goods given to William Doe, which Trim had also desired. However, the crowd turns on Trim, and he is mocked for his greed.
This narrative is followed by a 6-page fictional postscript. To the writer's surprise, Trim has not quietly retreated from the public eye, but has instead renewed the old quarrel between John and the late parson about the reading desk, and attempted to complain about excessive ill-treatment by John. Trim is again shamed by the public. The postscript concludes, "the general Opinion, upon the whole, is this, That, in three several pitch’d Battles, Trim has been so trimm’d, as never disastrous Hero was trimm’d before him".
The next section is titled "The Key"; in an allegorical work, the key would usually be a simple guide to which concepts or real-life persons each character represents. This key instead continues the satire by claiming that the pamphlet was found on the ground in York and inspired great debate in a local political club; "The Key" relates the club's improbable identifications, paired with character sketches of local figures.
This is followed by two letters signed by Laurence Sterne. The first, addressed to the printer, explicitly claims his authorship of the piece, and justifies its high price of one shilling (twice the six pence Topham charged for his most recent Reply). The second, addressed to Topham, contests some of Topham's evidence against Sterne in the ongoing personal conflict which the narrative satirizes.

## Allegory

The pamphlet's satirical narrative is an allegory for the ongoing jockeying for preferments within the Church of England, translated into a squabble for used clothing within a rural parish. The primary target of the narrative's satire is Francis Topham, whose attempts to acquire a range of minor posts is mocked as petty and demeaning. Sterne presents the Archbishop John Gilbert (an ally of Topham's and a rival of Sterne's patron John Fountayne) in a relatively positive light. The satirical key ridicules York's society more broadly, highlighting that all the local clergy were the subject of public mockery, and poking fun at the ill-founded but widespread gossip among York's notable residents. A full explanation of each part of the allegory is provided in the introduction to the 1914 edition.

### Allegorical key

* The new parson: Archbishop John Gilbert
* The late parson: Archbishop Matthew Hutton
* John the clerk: John Fountayne, Dean of York
* Trim the sexton: Dr. Francis Topham
* Mark Slender: Dr. Mark Braithwait
* William Doe: Mr. William Stables
* Lorry Slim: Laurence Sterne
* Dispute about the writing desk: a quarrel between Hutton and Fountayne about appointing a temporary preacher at York Minster
* Trim's new outfit from the late parson: the patent of the Prerogative Courts, granted to Topham by Hutton against Fountayne's protests
* Black plush breeches: the commissaryship of Pickering and Pocklington
* Pulpit-cloth and velvet cushion: the commissaryship of the Dean and Chapter of York
* Watch-coat: the commissaryship of the Exchequer and Prerogative Courts; ripping up the watch-coat signifies Topham's attempt to create a new patent for this post so that it would go to his heirs rather than allowing the archbishop to make future appointments
* The "Political Club" in the key: Sterne's own social club, which met at Sutton's Coffee-House. The members of the club are understood to represent specific individuals in Sutton-on-the-Forest, though they have not been identified.

## Composition and publication

Sterne began writing his satire early in January 1759. After Topham's Reply appeared, Sterne substantially expanded his work. The letters that conclude the work are dated January 20, 1759. Sterne originally planned to publish anonymously, as both Topham and Fountayne had. However, Topham accused Fountayne of involving many co-authors for his Answer (likely true, and Sterne was likely one of the writers to assist); Sterne responded by claiming full authorship of A Political Romance. Sterne's 60-page pamphlet was printed in York before the end of January, with no publisher listed. Roughly 500 copies were printed.
Sterne's pamphlet prompted an end to Topham and Fountayne's arguments. The archbishop John Gilbert summoned Topham and Fountayne to London to settle their dispute. Topham volunteered to renounce his claims if the pamphlet was suppressed. Although the pamphlet presented the archbishop in a relatively positive light, he considered it embarrassing for an internal church matter to be exposed to public ridicule; he also desired its suppression. Following pressure on all sides, Sterne agreed to destroy the pamphlet. Church officials claimed all the copies at the printer's, bought any remaining for sale, and burned them. Sterne kept only his manuscript of the work, and the six copies known to survive from this original print run were accidental. It was never reprinted during Sterne's lifetime. While ill in 1762, Sterne made preparations so the pamphlet could be reprinted with some other unpublished works to support his family if he died, but he expressed hope that it would not be necessary because he no longer agreed with the pamphlet's presentation of events. He now considered it too sycophantic to Fountayne, who did not live up to Sterne's hopes for patronage.
The pamphlet was first reprinted posthumously in 1769, by the London bookseller J. Murdoch. It is typically assumed that Sterne's friend John Hall-Stevenson provided Murdoch with a manuscript copy. In this version, in addition to extensive alterations to Sterne's language, the editors cut off the last three parts of the text, i.e., half the work. For nearly 150 years, this was the only printed version of the text available, and some scholars doubted whether the pamphlet had ever been printed in Sterne's lifetime. The shorter, censored version was reprinted by other booksellers and incorporated into a 1780 edition of Sterne's collected works, now given the title The History of a Good Warm Watch-Coat ... A Political Romance. In September 1905 an unexpected 1759 copy was found in the library of the dean and chapter of York. Since then, another five original copies have been found. A 1914 edition published by the Club of Odd Volumes was the first to circulate the full and uncensored text of A Political Romance to a wide audience.

## Effect on Sterne's career

In itself, the pamphlet was not a successful writing venture. Relatively few read it before it was destroyed, and it did not even succeed in improving Sterne's standing with his patron Fountayne. Nonetheless, his experience with A Political Romance was a crucial turning point in Sterne's career, as it prompted him to consider humour writing as a serious path. Sterne had previously published political journalism, but the pamphlet was his first attempt at fiction. He later wrote that, before finishing it, "he hardly knew he could write at all, much less with humour, so as to make his reader laugh." Just eight months later, his comic novel Tristram Shandy was ready to be printed; this work made him a literary celebrity the rest of this life. While preparing the printing of Tristram Shandy, he wrote to a friend, "Now you desire of knowing the reason of my turning author? why truly I am tired of employing my brains for other people's advantage.—'Tis a foolish sacrifice I made for some years to a foolish person."

## Style and influences

The most direct influence on Sterne's satirical style is Jonathan Swift. Like Swift's A Tale of a Tub (1704), A Political Romance takes some of its humour from being divided into many sub-sections. Another influence is Alexander Pope. Sterne's comically useless "key" to the figures of the narrative mirrors the similarly facetious "key" in Pope's satirical mock-epic The Rape of the Lock (1712). The conceit of the narrative — translating the affairs of the great into the petty squabbles of a minor country parish — also mirror's Pope's comic work, Memoirs of P.P., Clerk of this Parish, as well as Swift's depiction of Lilliput and Blefuscu in Gulliver's Travels (1726). It is also influenced by Le Lutrin (1674), a mock-heroic epic by Nicolas Boileau. Some of the jokes are scatological, such as a scene where Trim obsequiously curries favour with the new parson by carrying the pan for a close stool (a portable toilet) on his head through the town.
The name of the character Trim is taken from a proverb which Jonathan Swift had previously used in a satire: "Trim-tram; like master, like man." Sterne was alluding to the fact that Topham's attempt to gain permanent access to a perquisite followed the same legal process used by both recent Archbishops of York. The allusion to this proverb undermined Sterne's attempt to satirize only Topham and not the archbishop, and may have increased the archbishop's desire to suppress the pamphlet.