The picaresque novel by Lesage (1668–1747) “The History of Gil Blas of Santillana,” which enjoyed great success among readers, was extremely popular not only in France, but also abroad. Despite the fact that the novel takes place in Spain, the author showed the morals of French society, real statesmen of the regency era and the beginning of the reign of King Louis XV, giving them Spanish names. After going through many misadventures, the main character of the novel, Gilles Blas, an honest young man, ends up at court and becomes the right hand of Minister Olivares, in whose image Lesage embodied his ideal of a selfless ruler who thinks first of all about the good of the people. Translation: G. Yarho