The archetype of the appealing anti-hero is encapsulated in Gil Blas, the star of Alain-René Lesage’s 18th-century picaresque novel. Lesage’s work was influenced by the...

The archetype of the appealing anti-hero is encapsulated in Gil Blas, the star of Alain-René Lesage’s 18th-century picaresque novel. Lesage’s work was influenced by the story Lazarillo de Tormes, a Spanish novella published anonymously in 1554. The cover of an 1846 double publication of those works is reproduced here.