“The Journal to Eliza” is a fictionalized account of Laurence Sterne's relationship with Eliza Draper, based on letters Sterne wrote to her. Laurence Sterne, a vicar of Coxwold, and celebrity author of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy met, at a London gathering, Eliza Draper, who was visiting England from her home in India. Eliza was 23 and had married — at the age of 14 — Daniel Draper, an East India Company employee, a man 30 years her senior. The house where Sterne and Eliza met was in Gerrard Street, Soho, and was owned by William James, ex-Commander-in-chief of the East India Company. The house had become a meeting place for East India employees. Sterne was 54, and a married vicar. When Eliza had to sail back to India three months later, Sterne wrote to her every day. The letters were developed into The Journal to Eliza, a fictionalized chronicle of their relationship, which shows a different side of Sterne from the witty high-spirited author of Tristram Shandy. The Brahmin caste is the priestly class of India. Given the Brahmin Hindu priestly caste is renowned for austerity and wisdom, Sterne thereby draws attention to his real-life role as a priest.
