"The Adventures of Roderick Random" is a picaresque novel by Tobias Smollett, partially based on Smollett's experience as a naval surgeon's mate in the Royal Navy, especially during the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in 1741. The novel tells the life story (in the first person) of Roderick "Rory" Random. The naive Random, who seeks his place in the world, embarks on a series of adventures and misadventures, visiting London, Bath, France, the West Indies, West Africa, and South America. With little money to support himself, he encounters malice, discrimination, and sharpers. However, his honest...