The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Given the wrong name at baptism and accidentally circumcised by a sash window at age five - Tristram Shandy had a difficult start to life.

His luck never changed - but the hero of Laurence Sterne's great comic novel battled on against "this scurvy and disastrous world of ours".

He is joined by the likes of Uncle Toby, Corporal Trim, Parson Yorick, Dr Slop and the Widow Wadman as he faces misfortune head-on, with a sardonic smile.

The book, an "autobiography", was originally published in nine volumes over eight years.

It sees Shandy getting into scrapes, while launching into stream-of-consciousness tirades about subjects including sexual practices, insults, the human nose, siege warfare and obstetrics.

This hilarious and heart-warming book is perfect for fans of Charles Dickens and Jonathan Swift.

In 2006, the book was adapted into the movie 'A Cock and Bull Story', starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Keeley Hawes.

Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who also dabbled in local politics.

After becoming a vicar, he published his ecclesiastical satire 'A Political Romance', which infuriated Church leaders and was burnt.

He then published successive volumes of his classic comic novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'.

He travelled to France to relieve tuberculosis and wrote 'A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy' shortly before his death.