Guzmán de Alfarache, by this means, is conceived as an extensive doctrinal sermon about the sins of society, and was so received by the author's contemporaries, despite the hybrid qualities between an engaging novel and a moralizing discourse.

The English translation, by James Mabbe, was published in 1622, under alternative titles The Rogue and The Life of Guzman de Alfarache.

Apocryphal sequels and imitations were also soon produced, being that of 1602, written, probably, by the lawyer and poet Juan Martí, under the pseudonym of Mateo Luján de Sayavedra, and published in Valencia, the most important and successful, due to its influence on the second part of Alemán.

[3] The main character is an antihero, born in infamy, and emerging into a lower-class world of delinquency and roguish misadventures.

Among the most prominent modern editions are those by: In 1987, a loose film adaptation titled The Rogues was directed by Mario Monicelli.