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Overview
rogue literature
Quick Reference
A type of underworld writing popular in the 16th and 17th cents. Its practitioners include the Kentish magistrate Thomas Harman; R. Greene, whose pamphlets describe ‘coney‐catching’, that is, the deception of innocents; and T. Dekker. Rogue literature is generally vividly descriptive and often confessional, providing an important source for our knowledge of everyday common life and its language, as well as for the canting terms of thieves and beggars. It can be related to stories about Robin Hood, jest‐book literature, and early attempts at writing fiction and autobiography.
Subjects: Literature
