The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillana V4 (1897)

1896. Part Three of Four. With introduction, life and notes. LeSage, French novelist and dramatist, whose masterpiece, Gil Blas de Santillane is a rambling story in the style of Spanish picaresque romances, though unlike them in conception. It is instead strongly realistic, especially in its incidents; exact description of exterior and physical appearance suffices to show character and to imply moral judgment. Gil Blas was a major influence in the development of the realistic novel. The hero's adventures are described from naive youth through cunning servant to landed proprietor and nobleman-with a spell in jail, bereavements and fits of remorse along the way.