First published in 1748, "The Adventures of Roderick Random" is Scottish author and poet Tobias Smollett’s debut picaresque novel and it is loosely based on Smollett’s experiences in the British Navy.
Set in the 1730s and 1740s, the narrative follows the life of the main protagonist and narrator, Roderick “Rory” Random, from childhood to adulthood as Roderick journeys through England, France, the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America.
The Adventures of Roderick Random’s synopsis details the book as “one of the first truly global novels [that] casts light on nearly every aspect of its time—imperialism, gender relations, slavery, urban life, colonial warfare, commerce, politics, the professions, high society, and the Hogarthian underworld.”
