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 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, began to appear within the year.

Background

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 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 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. 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. 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, 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.

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 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.
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 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 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 writing 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 guide identifying which concepts or real-life persons each character represents. This key instead continues the satire with more narrative prose. It claims that the pamphlet was found on the ground in York and was read by a local political club. It describes their debate over the meaning of the allegory, pairing character sketches of local figures with their comically improbable identifications.
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. 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 in a relatively positive light as the new parson in the village. The pamphlet's purported 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
  • "one of the Sides-men, a grave, knowing old man" summoned by the parson to hear Trim defend his actions: Dr. William Herring, a cousin of Thomas Herring
  • 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 of the Archbishop of York; 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.