Best Female Rogue
Updated Daily
Daniel Defoe’s *Moll Flanders* chronicles the life of Moll, a woman born in Newgate Prison who navigates poverty and crime throughout 18th century England. The novel is notable for presenting a realistic portrait of a female protagonist driven by economic necessity and challenging societal expectati...
Nights at the Circus is Angela Carter's 1984 novel about winged aerialist Sophie Fevvers, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Roxana is Daniel Defoe's 1724 novel, notable for its first-person account of a woman using disguises, wealth, and sexual independence.
Hasta no verte Jesús mío is a 1969 Mexican testimonio novel by Elena Poniatowska, based on Josefina Bohórquez as Jesusa Palancares.
Two Serious Ladies is Jane Bowles's 1943 modernist novel, her only novel, following Christina Goering and Frieda Copperfield into transgressive lives.
The Diary of a Chambermaid is Octave Mirbeau's 1900 French novel, using servant Célestine's diary to expose bourgeois hypocrisy during the Dreyfus era.
Tipping the Velvet is Sarah Waters's 1998 debut novel, a Victorian lesbian picaresque following Nan King through music halls and London streets.
Portrait of Lozana is a 1528 Spanish dialogue novel by Francisco Delicado, published in Venice and noted for early picaresque traits.
Rubyfruit Jungle is Rita Mae Brown's 1973 debut novel, a coming-of-age account of Molly Bolt notable for its open portrayal of lesbian life.
The Life of Courage is Grimmelshausen's 1670 German picaresque sequel about the rogue Courage, later a source for Brecht's Mother Courage.
The Slaughterman's Daughter is Yaniv Iczkovits's 2015 Hebrew historical adventure, translated into English in 2020 and winner of the 2021 Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize.
La ingeniosa Elena is Salas Barbadillo's revised version of La hija de Celestina, printed in Madrid by 1614 with added verse and tales.
Fanny Hill is John Cleland's 1748 English erotic novel, notable as an early novel-form pornography and for a long history of obscenity prosecutions.
La hija de Celestina is a 1612 Zaragoza novella by Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo, blending urban picaresque and courtly fiction.
Letty Fox: Her Luck is Christina Stead's 1946 sixth novel, a New York first-person account often described as both picaresque and psychological.
La pícara Justina is a Spanish picaresque novel first printed in 1605, notable for its female rogue and exuberant Baroque language.
A Start in Life is Honore de Balzac's 1842 French novel in La Comedie humaine, built around youthful boasting and its social consequences.
Las harpías en Madrid y coche de las estafas is a 1631 narrative by Alonso de Castillo Solórzano, satirizing Madrid scams through female swindlers.
La niña de los embustes, Teresa de Manzanares is Castillo Solórzano's 1632 picaresque-courtly novel about a Madrid-born female trickster.
Dirty Weekend is Helen Zahavi's 1991 revenge novel set in Brighton, notable for its controversy, film adaptation, and Whitbread First Novel shortlist.
La garduña de Sevilla y anzuelo de las bolsas is Castillo Solórzano's 1642 continuation of Trapaza, mixing courtly intrigue with picaresque fraud.
The Comely Cook is Mikhail Chulkov's 1770 Russian novel about Martona, notable as an early first-person tale of a woman's social survival.
Ten Men is Alexandra Gray's 2005 British novel, an episodic first-person account of an Englishwoman's search for lasting happiness through relationships.
The London Jilt is a 1683 anonymous English prose tale about a courtesan's schemes, part of Restoration roguery and erotic fiction.
