Rogue literature is a literary genre that tells stories from the world of thieves and other criminals that was popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. The stories were mostly in a confessional form and full of vivid descriptions. Rogue literature is an important source in understanding the everyday life of the ordinary people and their language, and the language of thieves and beggars. This genre can be related to the stories of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

and jest book literature, as well as early examples of the first voice in fiction and autobiography.Birch, Dinah (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 853. The principal authors of such stories were

Thomas Harman Thomas Harman ( ''fl.'' 1567) was an English writer best known for his seminal work on beggars, ''A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors''. Life He was the grandson of Henry Harman, clerk of the crown under Henry VII, who obtained about 1480 t ...

Robert Copland Robert Copland ( fl. 1508–1547), English printer and author, is said to have been a servant of William Caxton, and certainly worked for Wynkyn de Worde. The first book to which his name is affixed as a printer is ''The Boke of Justices of Peace' ...

, Robert Greene and Thomas Dekker.

References

16th-century literature of England 17th-century literature of England Crime fiction Literature of England Literary genres {{lit-genre-stub