The Unfortunate Traveller: or, the Life of Jacke Wilton is a novel written by English pamphleteer, writer, and poet Thomas Nashe, who dedicated the book to the Earl of Southampton. It is considered the first picturesque novel ever written in English. It was originally published in 1594 at the peak of the English Renaissance and has been included in Nashe’s volume collection titled The Unfortunate Traveller and Other Works. Nashe described his novel as a chronicle or a memoir of the life of Jack Wilton.

The novel is written in classic, antiquated Elizabethan language and tells the story of Jack Wilton and his various adventures across Europe during the rule of Henry VIII. Jack is a page in the King’s Army who travels from England to Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and then to Italy. However, it is in Italy that he experiences the most eventful escapades and even falls in love with Diamante, a beautiful woman who has been branded as an adulterer by her goldsmith husband.

By traveling from country to country, Jack learns of the various cultures and societies that make up Europe, but he also takes note of the different misfortunes each country has encountered. What follows is an adventurous journey filled with violence, sex, murder, kidnappings, love, death, religion, injustice, realism, humor, and debauchery. The novel ends with Jack returning to England and continuing his military service to the king.

Aside from being a pioneer in literature, The Unfortunate Traveller did not receive a lot of commercial successes, nor did it gain many literary reviews. It was simply remembered for its significance as the first picturesque novel, instead of its complicated narrative or its content. Many analysts argue that this is mainly due to the fact that Nashe had the unfortunate fate of being a contemporary of Shakespeare, and there weren’t a lot of writers who could’ve been compared to the famous bard’s talent and popularity.