The Greatest Historical Fiction and Picaresque Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 465 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
873 Simplicius Simplicissimus Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen 1668 German German
886 The Life of a Good-For-Nothing Joseph von Eichendorff 1826 German German
1342 The Sot-Weed Factor John Barth 1960 American English
2052 Guzmán de Alfarache Mateo Alemán 1599 Spanish Spanish
2984 Captain Alatriste Arturo Pérez-Reverte 1996 Spanish Spanish
3546 The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll Alvaro Mutis 1993 Colombian Spanish
4703 The History Of Gil Blas Of Santillana Alain-René Lesage 1715 French French
9494 Falstaff Robert Nye 1976 British English
10676 The Reivers William Faulkner 1962 American English
13983 Water Music T. C. Boyle 1982 American English
13983 The Lodging House Khairy Shalaby 1999 Egyptian Arabic