Doomed to become the 'sport of fortune' by an interruption at the crucial moment of conception, Tristram Shandy's life lurches from one mishap to another: his nose crushed by the doctor's forceps during birth, christened with the worng name, an unfortunate incident involving a slamming sash window. Though everything occurs between parlor and garden, Tristram's excitable father, bewildered mother, and Uncle Toby provide ample opportunity for the digressions and madcap events that structure this seminal novel.