The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

In his third novel, Smollett, the master of picaresque comedy, presents a character who Walter Scott called “a complete picture of human depravity.” The refined and unrepentantly evil Count Fathom lies, cheats, and philanders his way across England and Europe. Having done so, he makes a return appearance in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker.