The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

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 10 years. It was not always held in high esteem by other writers
(Samuel Johnson responded that, "Nothing odd will do long. Tristram Shandy did
not last."), but its bawdy humour was popular with London society, and it has
come to be seen as one of the greatest comic novels in English, as well as a
forerunner for many modern narrative devices.

— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.