ABSTRACT
Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy and Ann Radcliffe's The Italian seem to have little in common. Had Sterne's travelling persona – Mr. Yorick – eventually reached the Apennine Peninsula, rather than abruptly concluding his account in a Savoy inn, it would be easier to draw parallels. In Sterne's text, the reference is made in the first of the scenes devoted to the Franciscan monk in Calais. Mr. Yorick reports being approached by the monk asking for alms and having resolved "not to give him a single sous", the traveller proceeds to offer a meticulous sketch of his figure. The corresponding portraits of Olivia and Ellena perform a vital narrative function, indicating their family bond: Olivia eventually appears to be Ellena's long-lost mother. When the novel was inclining towards the sentimental, similar uses of Guido started to appear in the realm of fiction.
