The Original Sixteenth Century Rogue Novel

Published in 1594, The Unfortunate Traveller is an early adventure story that follows Jack Wilton as he scams his way across Europe. It blends historical figures with dark, chaotic events to create one of literature's first picaresque tales.

This groundbreaking novel broke all the rules of its time by mixing actual history with wild, fictional antics. Jack Wilton travels from military camps to the heart of Italy, encountering real-life poets and historical disasters along the way. It is a cynical, funny, and surprisingly modern look at the moral decay of Renaissance Europe. Nashe’s writing style was so rebellious that it helped define a new genre of anti-hero storytelling.