York St John students bring overlooked historical voices to new generation of readers

From pioneering women writers to Black artists and works of satirical fiction, York St John University students are helping diverse and lesser-known voices from the eighteenth century find new readers.

On Monday 10 August, York St John's Critical Editions project returns to the York Georgian Festival for its third year with the launch of a new edition, Two Men of Letters, offering insight into the correspondence between Ignatius Sancho, one of Britain's earliest published Black writers, composers and abolitionists, and Laurence Sterne, the world-famous author of Tristram Shandy. 

Since the Critical Editions project started in 2023, York St John English Literature BA (Hons) and Publishing MA students have worked alongside academic staff to transcribe, edit and annotate important historical texts, creating free digital editions that make them easier to read, understand and enjoy. 

Offering a unique insight into literature, race and abolition in Georgian Britain, Two Men of Letters explores the correspondence between Ignatius Sancho and Laurence Sterne, revealing how writers helped shape some of the most important social debates of the eighteenth century. The edition also brings students' own fresh perspectives to these vital historical sources, while signposting readers discovering Sancho and Sterne for the first time to further reading and existing research on their lives and work. 

Two Men of Letters is the latest in a growing collection of freely available works produced through the Critical Editions project, giving students the opportunity to create resources that can be accessed for the very first time by readers, history enthusiasts and educators alike. Previous works include Eliza Haywood's The Parrot and Mary Robinson's Lyrical Tales. 

Two Men of Letters will also become the first York St John University Critical Edition to be published in print, following funding for a limited print run. The volume is being produced by Quacks The Printer in York, which occupies the site where Tristram Shandy was first published in 1767. 

Dr Adam James Smith, Associate Professor in English Literature at York St John University and director of the Critical Editions project, said: 

“This project is particularly exciting because it not only brings together one of the best known authors of the eighteenth century (Laurence Sterne), and a remarkable figure who has only really been rediscovered by scholarship in the last couple of years—Charles Ignatius Sancho, it also brings the YSJ Critical Editions project to York for the first time, thanks to Sterne being a local lad from Coxwold.” 

Second-year English Literature BA (Hons) student, Paige Hastings said: 

"It has been such an honour to be able to work on a project that really matters. Despite Sancho’s achievements as a writer, composer and shopkeeper, what struck me was how much his character shines through his letters. We are not just studying Sancho for his accomplishments, but for who he was as a person." 

Second-year English Literature BA (Hons) student, Celeste de Kuijper said: 

"These were not just letters exchanged to a friend or stranger; they were acts of advocacy that helped challenge a system of oppression that had existed for centuries. With this edition we hope to provide a larger contemporary platform for Charles Ignatius Sancho, a formerly enslaved man, who accumulated a vast network within the literary community across the world and encouraged them to stand up for Black rights.” 

Dr Smith added: 

“The exchange between these authors is genuinely remarkable, and I think it challenges a lot of assumptions about who was writing and reading and engaging in literary culture during the 18th century. I love that students have made a free, accessible and carefully contextualised edition of this correspondence, so that the public get to learn about all of this.” 

Richard Pollitt, manager and curator of York Mansion House, said: 

"This is the third year that students from York St John's Critical Editions Project have launched one of their new editions as part of York Georgian Festival. 

"We're proud to support this work once again and welcome back a new group of editors. It's a great opportunity for students to showcase their work and gain experience in presenting, while bringing less well-known narratives from the eighteenth century into the public domain and increasing our understanding of this fascinating period of history." 

Tickets for the launch event on 10 August are available from the York Mansion House website. 

Find more information about the Critical Editions project.