In this room is the curator’s collection of contemporary works by writers who experiment with the boundaries that define the book and its contents.

Sterne’s approach to writing his masterpiece was to throw away the rulebook and try to entertain the reader by surprises at every turn. ‘I was born &c…’ does not begin Tristram’s story and the words ‘The End’ do not occur at the conclusion of the ninth volume. He records the death of a major character (Parson Yorick) with a black page; a woman (the Widow Wadman) who is so beautiful that he leaves a blank page to draw her yourself; a chapter of ten pages is torn out of the book by the author as it was written so splendidly it made the rest of the book seem second-rate; and there is a page that is always different every time a copy of any edition is published – if Sterne’s instructions to the publisher are accepted.

Rounding the corner in this room you come face to face with Shandy Hall’s most famous occupant. The bust is by Joseph Nollekens who sculpted it in terracotta in Italy just a couple of years before Sterne died. It was moulded from life and it is believed to be an accurate representation of the contours of Sterne’s head and face. When his remains were brought to Coxwold to be re-buried in the church the bust provided evidence to support the certainty of identification. But that’s another story.