The picaresque novel is a genre of prose fiction whose modern form originated in Spain with the anonymous publication of Lazarillo de Tormes in 1554, which employed elements of Roman, Slavic, and Arabic literature and folktales from earlier centuries. The genre takes its name from the word picaro—or “cunning rogue”—used to describe the novel’s protagonist, a rebellious but appealing hero. In the centuries following, authors adopted elements of the form to tell stories about anti-heroes, fools, and accidental leaders. Classics in the genre include Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote (1605), Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders (1722), William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair (1848), Voltaire’s Candide (1759), and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884); modern literary prize-winners include John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces (1980) and Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger (2008).

During this evolution, the cynical and amoral picaro willing to lie, cheat, and steal softened into more of a “charming scoundrel” with a clear moral compass (though it occasionally points in the wrong direction). However, other elements of the original form are still present in contemporary picaresques. Using the first-person perspective, the protagonist often tells a story about an adventurous journey wherein they survive by wit and luck in a corrupt or dangerous place, encountering tricksters, thieves, and other ne’er-do-wells.