Simplicius Simplicissimus

Simplicius Simplicissimus is a picaresque novel by the German writer Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, published in German under the title Der abentheuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch, nominally dated 1668 though actually issued in 1669, with a sequel following soon after. Regarded as the first adventure novel in the German language and the first German novel of masterpiece stature, it is set against the devastation of the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and follows its rogue-like protagonist Simplicius through military service, sudden wealth, hardship and travels across Europe, including fantastical episodes such as a voyage to Russia and a visit to an underwater realm, before he ultimately renounces worldly life to become a hermit. Drawing directly on Grimmelshausen's own experience of the war, the novel combines picaresque adventure with a bleak, often satirical portrait of a Europe torn apart by decades of conflict.