The History of Gil Blas de Santillane ) relates the adventures and social ascension of the son of a squire and a chambermaid, leaving the family home at seventeen to go, on the back of mule, at the University of Salamanca, where he is about to study.
 
The author is inspired by the picaresque model but diverts it, to the extent that his hero, Gil Blas, rises through his countless adventures in the social ladder (he becomes rich and ends up happily married and father of a family), unlike the picaro who, seeking to change his environment, always fails in his ascent.
 
Please note this book is written in French