Fodor's Expert Review Shandy Hall

The Brontës aren't the only literary lions to have emerged from this part of Yorkshire. In his eccentric, satirical novel Tristram Shandy, Laurence Sterne experimented with the techniques of postmodern fiction in 1760, long before the traditional novel form had emerged as a literary genre. Despite the book's often bawdy humor, Sterne was the local vicar, living and writing in this charming 15th-century house with 18th-century additions. Restored in the 1990s, it contains the world's largest collection of Sterne's work and memorabilia. Admission to the house is only by guided tour (11:30 am and 2:30 pm) or by advance appointment. There are also 2 acres of notable gardens.