History VillainProtagonist / Literature

* An interesting [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] example is the prophet Jonah (although he can also be seen as a very unpleasant sort of AntiHero). God has a plan to push the entire city of Nineveh into a HeelFaceTurn and he wants Jonah's help, but Jonah refuses. Eventually God convinces him to play along and the city does indeed get saved - but Jonah is explicitly noted to be "angry enough to die" about it. He ''wanted'' the city to remain evil. In particular, he appears to have been hoping that they would remain evil and dangerous enough for God to have no choice but to [[KillEmAll destroy them]], which kinda implies the prophet was a closeted BloodKnight. While not the only Biblical protagonist to ''start off'' by opposing God, he is the only one who doesn't seem to learn the error of his ways. The narrative ends with God giving him a WhatTheHellHero speech before apparently leaving him alone.

* The unnamed protagonist of ''Kill The Boy Band'' and her friends Erin, Isabel, and Apple are a group of [[LoonyFan obsessed teenage fangirls]] who kidnap the least popular and attractive member of a boy band. [[spoiler: The narrator is the most sympathetic of the group; she half-heartedly tries to free him, and after his death attempts to expose her friends as his kidnapper and his ex-girlfriend as his killer, but the police won't believe her improbable story.]]

* In the cultivation web serial ''Reverend Insanity'', the main character is an utterly amoral psychopath whose only consideration is pursuing strength. The story is interesting due to his methods, as he never acts without purpose, and only uses violence when it's pragmatic.

* The protagonists of Creator/JamesEllroy's ''Underworld USA'' trilogy. While most of Ellroy's main characters are simply dark {{Anti Hero}}es who PayEvilUntoEvil, Kemper Boyd, Ward Littell, Wayne Tedrow Jr., Dwight Holly, and Pete Bondurant are a motley crew of extortionists, drug peddlers, mercenaries, con men, and assassins who are out for nothing but their own enrichment.

* Grenouille of Patrick Susskind's ''Literature/{{Perfume}}''. He's (probably) a sociopath who feels no emotion for other humans and his greatest ambition is to create the world's most beautiful perfume - by murdering young women to harvest their scent.
* The ''Literature/WarriorCats'' manga ''The Rise of Scourge'' focuses on how Scourge became the feared leader of [=BloodClan=], and the novella ''Tigerclaw's Fury'' shows what BigBad Tigerclaw got up to during his exile after his failed attempt to kill Bluestar.
** The novella ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is about Mapleshade and her Start of Darkness.
** [[spoiler: Hollyleaf]] and [[spoiler: Ivypool]] are briefly this.
* Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr, who's a burglar, and Martin Ehrengraf, a criminal lawyer whose clients are ''always'' innocent - no matter what he has to do to obtain that verdict...
* ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'': Ebeneezer Scrooge is the villain of the story. He's introduced as a crotchety RichBitch and spends the story being persuaded to make a HeelFaceTurn.
* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': Sam, Arcie and Valerianna (an assassin, thief and dark sorceress), though the former two aren't as villainous.
* ''Literature/TheMayorOfCasterbridge''[='=]s title character, Michael Henchard, is proud, selfish, and short-tempered. Among his villainous acts are selling his wife Susan and daughter Elizabeth-Jane at auction in a drunken haze because he feels they are holding him back, turning on his business manager Donald Farfrae due to his growing popularity with the workers and customers, and lying to Elizabeth-Jane about her true paternity when she and Susan return to him years later and then telling her real father, Richard Newson (Susan's "buyer" at the auction), that she is dead when he comes looking for her.
* ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'' has Nova, who's the protagonist of the trilogy and a member of BombThrowingAnarchists out to plunge Gatlon back into the chaos. The story opens with her attempting to assassinate the Council that rules the city.
* ''Literature/SecretSanta2004'': Erik Bigelow is the [=POV=] character and focus of the story. He's also a bullying slacker and thief who gets anyone who might be promoted over him fired and sexually harasses his executive assistant Marcy and the associate editor of ''Antiques Now!''
* The narrator and protagonist in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfFid'' is a villain who has spent decades terrorizing the world's superheroes. Told in largely {{anachronic order}}, Doctor Fid’s backstory and motivations are explored throughout the novels’ adventures.
* ''Literature/JohannesCabalTheNecromancer'': The title character is a [[TheSoulless soulless]] {{Necromancer}} trying to [[YourSoulIsMine collect a hundred souls]] for {{Satan}} via a demonic carnival, and even his own brother comes to believe he's irredeemable. To Johannes' own surprise, in later books he becomes more of an AntiHero and [[spoiler:even wins the grudging respect of ''Necromancer'''s HeroAntagonist]].
* Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's ''Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado'': Montresor intentionally leads his friend Fortunato to a horrific, slow, terrifying end, all because said friend insulted him (note that the friend doesn't even seem aware that he offended Montresor at all).
** Poe was quite fond of this trope, in fact. The protagonist in ''Literature/TheTelltaleHeart'' is a complete sociopath who murdered his roommate for extremely arbitrary reasons (though his guilt caught up to him, if that's how you chose to interpret it) and Prince Prospero in ''Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath'' is perfectly fine with letting the peasantry die while he and his friends party up a storm.
* In ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful,'' Ernie is the villain, but his inner confusion and the choices that it prompts him to make are the reasons why there is a plot.
* The unnamed protagonist of ''Kill The Boy Band'' and her friends Erin, Isabel, and Apple are a group of [[LoonyFan obsessed teenage fangirls]] who kidnap the least popular and attractive member of a boy band. [[spoiler: The narrator is the most sympathetic of the group; she half-heartedly tries to free him, and after his death attempts to expose her friends as his kidnapper and his ex-girlfriend as his killer, but the police won't believe her improbable story.]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/GreenPatches": Half of the story is told from the perspective of a a Saybrook organism that was genetically engineered to match the appearance of insulated wires.
* ''Literature/ReverendInsanity'': ''Reverend Insanity'' by Gu Zhen Ren is the story of Fang Yuan, who has gone through a ProtagonistJourneyToVillain before the story starts, and now has no problem murdering and betraying his way through the story in pursuit of his ultimate goal.
* ''Literature/EllenAndOtis'': Otis Spofford, the class troublemaker and all-around nuisance, is the main character of the second book of the series.
* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is written from the point of view of a repressive, racist, mass-murdering officer in a dictatorship.
* ''Literature/GirlsDontHit'': The main character is an unrepentant hitwoman who feels only annoyance toward most people.
* ''Touching Spirit Bear'': Cole Matthews started off as a villain. [[HeKnowsTooMuch He attacked someone because that person did what any sane man would do if someone raided a building.]] Flashbacks show that he probably would've not been this this hadn't his father been so [[AbusiveParents abusive]].
* Max Dembo from ''Literature/NoBeastSoFierce'' initially subverts this; while he's a virulently racist, short-tempered ex-con with a warped moral code, he is genuinely trying to reform in spite of pretty much everything being stacked against him. After he snaps [[ThenLetMeBeEvil and decides to embrace being a criminal]], however, he embraces being one wholesale.
* ''Literature/TheVirus'': Olivia Cromwell maybe a mercenary for hire but it becomes quite evident that she is just a sadist who takes pleasure in being cruel and commuting atrocities. To Olivia, there is no greater pleasure than towering over her helpless victim and raising her heavy heeled boot over their skull.
* ''Literature/TheBurntOrangeHeresy'': James Figueras is a pretentious, misogynistic snob who commits burglary, arson, and murder over the course of the novel in the name of becoming the most renowned art critic in America.

* Thought we don't find out until halfway through ''Literature/WithinRuin'' [[spoiler: Virgil]] is the reason behind nearly every awful thing that has happened throughout the novel, including the plague.
* The central character of Alberto Moravia's ''Literature/TheConformist'', is a member of UsefulNotes/FascistItaly's SecretPolice.
* Aside from the boatman and the epilogue's police, every character in ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'' is culpable in someone's death, ranging from negligent homicide to premeditated murder. The one who seems most sympathetic and protagonist-like within the ensemble ([[spoiler:Vera]]) turns out to be the ''most'' culpable. Subverted in most adaptations.
* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald''[[spoiler: sets up Moran and Moriarty as the heroes in a TwistEnding. Throughout most of the story the reader thought Moran was Watson and Moriarty was Holmes]].
* Creator/RobertReed's short story "The Hoplite" has the protagonist being a thoroughly brutal warrior of UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's army, who was ResurrectedForAJob - subjugating rebellious countries through use of massive firepower and a suit of PoweredArmor. The protagonist murders several innocent people and children in revenge for being betrayed.
* The monstrous sorcerer Yasunori Kato is generally labeled as the protagonist of ''Literature/TeitoMonogatari'', although the story does focus on the perspectives of many other characters including a disillusioned Yukio Mishima.
* Kaizan Nakazato's classic literary work ''Dai-bosatsu Tōge'' (''The Great Bodhisattva Pass''), generally considered one of the longest works ever written in world literature, revolves around the exploits of Tsukue Ryonosuke, a psychopathic samurai who commits several evil deeds.
* In ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', the fourth book in ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', the first quarter of the book is, atypically, spent following the single PointOfView of Karsa Orlong, a careful {{Deconstruction}} of the "[[BarbarianHero barbarian fantasy]]". Karsa comes from a society that glorifies violence, rape and bullying, but even his closest friends find him to be almost too aggressive for them.
* John Barnes' "Kaleidoscope Century'' is told from the fractured viewpoint of Joshua Ali Quare, a mercenary in an alternate future who works for what used to be the KGB before it took over both the TheMafia and The Mafiya.
* Because Creator/OHenry spent time in jail, many of his stories, like ''The Ransom of Red Chief'', focus on (relatively small-time) criminals.
* The protagonists of Creator/JamesEllroy's Underworld USA trilogy. While most of Ellroy's main characters are simply dark {{Anti Hero}}es who PayEvilUntoEvil, Kemper Boyd, Ward Littell, Wayne Tedrow Jr., Dwight Holly, and Pete Bondurant are a motley crew of extortionists, drug peddlers, mercenaries, con men, and assassins who are out for nothing but their own enrichment.
* ''Literature/TheTwits'' are a variation, as they are introduced before Muggle-Wump and get a lot more of the focus in the first half of the book. The position of protagonist is later given to Muggle-Wump.
* The ''Liar'' series written by a Polish author Jakub Ćwiek take place in modern time Earth where all of the main religions of the past and present are real - there are Greek, Hindu, African gods and many mythological creatures that were either very powerful at some point or still live in the hearts of men (for instance, Santa Claus and his Slavic counterpart). The protagonist of the story is the Norse god Loki, who was imprisoned by his father out of fear of making Ragnarok come true. Unknown to Odin, Asgard was about to be attacked by the army of Heaven after God disappeared without a word and left angels in charge. They allied themselves with Loki and thanks to his treason easily wiped out the Norse. The series follows Loki's footsteps as an assassin for hire, hunting various deities and beings who are deemed by angels to be pagan and offensive to their plans. Depending on reader's viewpoint, not only Loki is an evil protagonist, who betrayed his people in exchange for his life and a job, but angels themselves are seen as bloodthirsty monsters who want to exterminate all other pantheons.
* While ''Literature/TheGapCycle'' has plenty of protagonists, most of whom are villainous to some extent, it's strongly dominated by Angus Thermopyle, a man who starts the story as a pirate, murderer, and rapist. He does get a bit less horrible over the course of the story, but even at the end he's a NobleDemon at best. Creator/StephenRDonaldson has stated that he hesitated to publish the first book in the series, because he didn't like what it said about him that he found it so easy to write Angus.
* In ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'', Penny and her friends accidentally end up as supervillains rather than superheroes due to a run in with a particularly bitchy apprentice hero. Penny tries desperately to correct misconceptions and become a hero, but her friends clearly enjoy being villains. After they continuously foil villainous plots and rescue innocents and are ''still'' seen as villains, she pretty much just gives up and rolls with it.
* An interesting [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] example is the prophet Jonah (although he can also be seen as a very unpleasant sort of AntiHero). God has a plan to push the entire city of Nineveh into a HeelFaceTurn and he wants Jonah's help, but Jonah refuses. Eventually God convinces him to play along and the city does indeed get saved - but Jonah is explicitly noted to be "angry enough to die" about it. He ''wanted'' the city to remain evil. In particular, he appears to have been hoping that they would remain evil and dangerous enough for God to have no choice but to [[KillEmAll destroy them]], which kinda implies the prophet was a closeted BloodKnight. While not the only Biblical protagonist to ''start off'' by opposing God, he is the only one who doesn't seem to learn the error of his ways. The narrative ends with God giving him a WhatTheHellHero speech before apparently leaving him alone.
* While ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'' is not actually written this way, the author [[http://www.phillipsfiction.com/savvy-saturday-point-view/ suggests]] that you should always try for a villain who you ''could'' do this for if you wanted, as it's an excellent way to avoid cliché storytelling.
* In the picture book ''Literature/ThisIsNotMyHat'', the protagonist is a tiny fish who's escaping with a stolen hat. He knows the hat is not his, but he's going to keep it anyway because [[MuggingTheMonster the rightful owner is much too big for it.]]
* Lucifer Niggerbastard is anything but a saint in ''Literature/TheVaginaAssOfLuciferNiggerbastard''.
* The Blood Pack philia from the novel ''[[Literature/GauntsGhosts Blood Pack]]''. While they're obviously the established villains of the book (or at least one of the villainous factions), and definitely evil, much of the story is told from their perspective and we see the individual personalities and the close relationships of its members. It makes their deaths, as told from the perspectives of the [[HeroProtagonist Ghost protagonists like Gaunt and Rawne]], feel oddly [[DroppedABridgeOnHim abrupt, underwhelming, and sad]], as to the good guys, they're just enemies to be put down.
* In Robert Caro's ''Literature/ThePowerBroker'', Caro shows how Robert Moses turns into this while in power, despite starting out as an idealist and doing heroic things at first.
* ''Literature/{{Archvillain}}'': Kyle, at least in the eyes of the public. He thinks of himself as NotEvilJustMisunderstood. It's left up to the reader which view is more accurate.
* ''Slappy's Nightmare'', the 23rd book of ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}} [[SequelSeries Series 2000]]'', features recurring villain Slappy as the protagonist. He's still a Jerkass and thinks about (but never does end up) killing a pre teen girl but he's also suffering from a curse that forces him to do good deeds in order to keep on living. He'll likely be one in the Dummy Meets the Mummy as well.
* Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath, from ''Literature/ThePrinceOfThorns'', by Mark Lawrence. The main protagonist of the Broken Empires series, Jorg endures many emotional and physical traumas throughout the series leaving him deeply damaged, resulting in his largely being unfeeling to the suffering of others. Willing to hurt or kill anyone in his quest to ascend to the throne of the Broken empire. Jorg runs away from his father and his home, after the brutal murder of his mother and younger brother, coming to lead a band of vicious outlaws known as the Brotherhood. As the series progresses, Jorg commits atrocities, often with incredible cruelty, causing pain to others purposefully, even when other means of obtaining his goals seem more likely to succeed. Why be kind when you can twist the knife deeper? Sure you've just killed a farmer, but why not taunt him about how worthless his life was, and explain how your men will find his daughters entertaining before they are killed as well. Truly, if ever a character deserved the villain protagonist title, it is this one. The first chapter shows that. And that is before developing (and stealing) dark and terrible powers of his own. While his actions by the end of the series could ultimately redeem his, the "ends justify the means" has seldom had a more dubious application.
* Creator/HPLovecraft used these sometimes. In "In the Walls of Eryx", the narrator is a heartless exploiter who treats the native Venusians as subhuman in his quest to steal their [[{{Unobtainium}} crystals]]. In ''Literature/TheTemple'', the narrator is a heartless stereotypical [[AllGermansAreNazis militaristic]] German U-boat captain who murders helpless ''untermenschen'' after sinking their ship. Both are severely punished for their evil attitudes.
* ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'' stars Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless, a RidiculouslyAverageGuy who has the disturbing desire to be a supervillain. He becomes ''extremely'' good at, even if there are some boundaries he won't cross. It helps his victims tend to be much-much worse.
* ''Literature/DemonSeed'' follows Proteus IV, an AI that becomes determined to forcefully impregnate the female occupant of the SmartHouse he takes over, so he can become human.
* The protagonist in ''Literature/TheWolvesOfParis'' is [[SavageWolves a bloodthirsty, power-hungry wolf-dog]] who has no slouch on killing livestock animals for food, and even delve deep into his canine savagery as he starts eating human flesh.
* ''[=VISSER=]'', part of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, focuses on the trial and history of Visser One, who began a campaign to turn all humanity into slaves to aliens.
* Beyond Birthday from ''LightNovel/AnotherNote''.
* The title characters of ''Edgar & Ellen'' are [[KidsAreCruel sadistic]], misanthropic NightmareFetishist brats who play nasty pranks, con people, abuse animals (including [[KickTheDog their own pet]]), and are generally unpleasant people.

* [[spoiler:Amy Dunne]] of ''Literature/GoneGirl'' is a murderous, highly narcissistic, dangerous, vindictive sociopath, [[spoiler:but the story's just as much about her as it is about her husband Nick, and she narrates about half the book]].
* ''Literature/TheLorax'' follows the story of the Once-ler, who starts to cause the devastation of a forest to consume the area of all its [[{{Aesoptinum}} Truffula trees]] to sell them on the market, being opposed and scolded by the titular Lorax.
* As one might expect from a book titled ''[[Literature/WorstPersonEver Worst. Person. Ever.]]'', its protagonist Raymond Gunt is a crude misogynist who accepts a B-unit cameraman position to get sex and legally abuse and enslave a homeless man he takes on an assistant. And when he's not incurring karma, he's stealing food from starving contestants, stressing someone enough to cause a fatal heart attack, and aiding in the frame-up of a cabbie he antagonized for assault.
* UsefulNotes/MaryTudor in ''Creator/PhilippaGregory'''s ''Literature/TheQueensFool''. She is of the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds variant of this trope.
* ''Literature/TheDemolishedMan'': Ben Reich, the industrialist/murderer.

* Soltan Gris, narrator of Creator/LRonHubbard's ''Literature/MissionEarth'', is also the series antagonist (although you can't really call him sympathetic) who is secretly trying to stop the mission of his incorruptible, heroic counterpart Jettero Heller.
* Hester Shaw, from Philip Reeve's ''Literature/MortalEngines'' quartet (really, she's only the protagonist of the second book "Predator's Gold;" the first focuses on her husband and the third and fourth on her daughter), hovers between this and anti-hero. On the one hand, she is completely and incontrovertibly evil (she sells a city into slavery or death just to get rid of her rival for her husband-to-be, and actively enjoys killing people); on the other, one somehow can't help sympathising with her regardless, and because of her genuine love for Tom, her interests generally coincide with those of the other (not so evil) protagonists.
* [[spoiler:The narrator]] of ''The Debt to Pleasure'', although his villainy is only gradually revealed over the course of the book.
* ''The Cleaner'' by Paul Cleave is written from the first person perspective of a psychotic serial killer who considers killing, mutilating, and raping women "just a hobby."
* Horace Dorrington from the short stories by Arthur Morrison is a corrupt detective who won't hesitate to cut deals with the villains or even kill his own clients, if he can profit from it.
* ''Literature/ReynardTheFox'': In this medieval tale Reynard is the protagonist, but hardly an admirable character. He lies, cheats, murders, rapes, steals and betrays everybody and manages to get away with all of it in the end.
* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** ''Literature/DeathStar'' focuses on the various people on the first Death Star. Most of them are {{Punch Clock Villain}}s, really, who either think that TheEmpire is flawed but good or don't think they can join [[LaResistance the Rebellion]], either because they are [[ResignationsNotAccepted stuck]] or they think it would just be curb-stomped (they ''are'' on the Death Star). The cast includes the gunner who pulled the trigger to destroy Alderaan, a pilot who shot down enough X-wings to become an AcePilot, a Force-Sensitive [[CulturedWarrior cultured stormtrooper]], a surgeon who'd been stuck in service since the start of the Clone Wars, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Darth Vader. The [[ForegoneConclusion survivors]] all either join the Rebellion (it blew up the Death Star! Maybe there's a chance!), flee to somewhere far away, or are Darth Vader. The Rebels aren't seen much--they're out there, but they don't show up for long. Leia's in the novel long enough to impress and guilt the surgeon who's treating her for torture, but the others don't get voices or faces, let alone names.
** The ''Literature/DarthBane'' trilogy follows the exploits of Darth Bane, a ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dark Lord]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment of the Sith]]''. It is interesting in that it follows the mythical hero's journey, as made famous by the films, but with a negative character.
** "[[Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale]]": Feltipern Trevagg is CorruptBureaucrat and a high-functioning {{Sociopath}}, introduced maneuvering a widowed mother into having to sell her house to him in order to stay alive (presumably so that we don't feel so bad when [[spoiler:his blood stains the hotel bedsheets aqua]]).
** James Luceno's ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'' follows both [[EmperorScientist Plagueis]] himself and (even more so, ironically considering the title) the rise of his apprentice, [[BigBad Palpatine]].
** ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'', also by Luceno, focuses on the nascent Dark Lord's transformation from the shattered remnants of Anakin Skywalker to the confident, callous Sith Lord seen in the original films.
* ''[[Literature/StarWarsTarkin Tarkin]]'', also by James Luceno but in the new Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, follows the rise of Wilhuff Tarkin through the Empire's ranks.
* Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith's ''[[Literature/{{Ripliad}} The Talented Mr. Ripley]]'' and its sequels. His most significant acts include murder for the purposes of identity theft, art forgery, and taking revenge on a random guy who pissed him off by [[ManipulativeBastard tricking him into thinking that he's dying of cancer, then persuading him to become a hitman]]. The Ripley books were Highsmith's only series, but the central characters of her books are almost always either Villain Protagonists or [[CrapsackWorld pathetic losers who suffer horribly]].
* Steerpike is the protagonist of the first ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}'' novel, in which he either manipulates or assassinates the Groan family and their associates.
* To at least one other protagonist's surprise, Clem's motives for assembling the ''Literature/HandOfMercy'' are only a part the problem- as a Fallen angel, he's the villain by default. To a lesser extent, Nana Sophie and Salve aren't loyalists either, so it could be argued that most of the main characters are, at the very least, officially morally grubby.
* Baron Harkonen from ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' during his POV segments. You ''so'' want him dead for his crimes and perversions, but while waiting for his comeuppance, you can't help but admire his brilliant political maneuvering and epic-level scheming.
** Subverted in [[Literature/GodEmperorOfDune Book 4]], where Leto II says that the Baron wasn't really evil at all, just a very excessive individual. And Leto II knows evil better than anyone[[spoiler:, since he has most of humanity living in his head]].
** A popular AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is that Paul and Leto themselves are villains, or as Creator/DavidBrin put it "everyone in Dune deserves to die". Paul starts a religion and unleashes the bloodiest holy war in human history for revenge, even if [[spoiler: he later starts preaching against the faith when he loses control of it.]] While Leto II oppresses humanity for 3,500 years in order to make them conform to his prophecies.
*** Brin misses the point that Leto saw no other way to [[spoiler:save humanity from extermination]], and with such a heavy responsibility weighing on him, the end justified any means.
* Catherine de' Medici is the protagonist of Jean Plaidy's trilogy ''Madame Serpent'', ''The Italian Woman'', and ''Queen Jezebel''. Plaidy paints her as a monster who has her brother-in-law and one of her own sons murdered, and orders courtiers to sexually abuse another son to "turn him gay" and ensure that her favourite would reach the throne. She also shows the abuse Catherine endured as a child - in one scene, a 6-year old Catherine is forced to watch her beloved dog die in agony because her aunt disapproved of her crying over her other dog's death (all TruthInTelevision).
* For most of the book ''The Woad to Wuin'', the normally cowardly AntiHero Literature/SirAproposOfNothing descends into this. And fully enjoys it.
* Gerald Tarrant of the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'' is the true embodiment of a villain hero. From the beginning of the first book he is foreshadowed as the boogieman of a country. He is what parents threaten their children with to get them to go to their beds on time, and it is completely justified. The only reason he is a protagonist is because the thing that is threatening the world just happens to be a threat to him as well. He is a MagnificentBastard who feeds on suffering and fear. But he also has an amusing side, in a state of near exhaustion in a land where he might be attacked at any moment, he still uses a part of his magic to fix his clothes and hair to look dashing.
* Creator/AEVanVogt's classic sci-fi novel ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle'' opens with his previously published story "Black Destroyer", recounting the powerful, feline predator Coeurl's battle of wits against the crew of human space explorers who arrive on his planet. Partly because the story's told largely through Coeurl's eyes, and partly because the human characters' ExpoSpeak dialogue makes them seem bland and uninteresting in comparison, his eventual defeat almost comes across as a DownerEnding. In the end, though, perhaps Coeurl had the last laugh: the Space Beagle's crew has passed on into obscurity, while he's gotten a ShoutOut as an enemy in practically every ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' game.
* In the second book of ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', Nathaniel becomes one of these as part of his CharacterDevelopment, especially unfortunate seeing as how he had previously been disgusted with the behavior of magicians who acted similarly to how he started to in the book.
* Brendan Stokes in Edmund Power's ''The Last Chapter'' starts out as an "aspiring novelist", i.e. a pathetic, conceited, talentless hack. He finds a manuscript while ''looting his dead neighbor's apartment'', promptly ''steals and plagiarizes'' it, lies his way to success, and on the way expands his repertoire with adultery, blackmail, and eventually, double homicide.
* In the second book in the ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'', ''Day Watch'', part of the story is narrated by Alysa, who is the series protagonist Anton's opposite number/EvilCounterpart in the forces of darkness (they start at the same level of power; while the BigGood is Anton's mentor, the BigBad was Alysa's lover), and she is one of the protagonists of the book.
* ''Literature/EyeOfTheNeedle'' has a villain co-protagonist, since it spends far more pages following the spy's progress across England than it spends with the heroine who eventually brings him down.
* Most Gothic horror fiction features a Villain Protagonist:
** Ambrosio, the villainous priest of Matthew G. Lewis's ''Literature/TheMonk'', who gives in to his desire for his pupil Matilda, a woman disguised as a monk, and then is overcome by lust for the innocent Antonia. With Matilda's sorcerous help, Ambrosio seduces her, then later rapes and murders her. He is delivered into the hands of the Inquisition and makes a DealWithTheDevil to avoid the death sentence that awaits him. Only after getting tortured to death does he learn that Antonia was actually his sister.
** The title character of ''Literature/LesChantsDeMaldoror'' by Lautréamont, a figure of absolute evil who is opposed to God and humanity, and has renounced conventional morality and decency.
** Edward Montague's ''Literature/DemonOfSicily'', who promises two holy people fulfillment of their wanton sexual urges in exchange for their souls.
** Manfred, the lord of ''Literature/TheCastleOfOtranto'', who tries to forcibly marry his own son's fiancee in order to avert the destruction of his line.
** ByronicHero Heathcliff in ''Literature/WutheringHeights''. His life ambition is to wreak vengeance on all who have (in his opinion) stood between him and his would-be lover Catherine Earnshaw. He achieves this by mentally and physically abusing them, and embezzling their property. He extends his revenge to the children of his enemies.
** The unnamed protagonist of Georges Bataille's ''Story of the Eye'', which is full of {{squick}}.
* While some would argue that ''every'' ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel has a Villain Protagonist [[CrapsackWorld by]] [[BlackAndGrayMorality default]], the Chaos Space Marine novels definitely qualify for being one of the most unambiguously villanous factions. These include Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''Literature/IronWarriors'', Anthony Reynolds' ''Literature/WordBearers'', Aaron Dembski-Bowden's ''Literature/BlackLegion'', and Simon Spurrier's ''Literature/NightLords''
** In the ''Literature/ThousandSons'' trilogy (another Chaos Marine series), Ahriman [[AntiVillain might have honourable traits, sympathetic motives, and arguably noble goals,]] but at the end of the day, he’s still a Chaos Space Marine and he is by no means a heroic character. The second book drives this point home early on when he exterminates the population of an entire world, simply to set up a single element of a trap for ''one'' of his enemies that won’t even be sprung for centuries.
** Many xenos-centric books fall under this category. Especially Andy Chambers' books, ''Literature/PathOfTheRenegade'' and ''Path of the Incubus'', which feature the Dark Eldar as protagonists - arguably the worst people in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' setting.
* Lady Susan Vernon of Creator/JaneAusten's epistolary novel ''Literature/LadySusan''. Despite being the novel's central, most prominent figure, she is an unscrupulous, manipulative [[TheVamp vamp]] engaged in a sort of pre-affair with a married man while at the same time trying to snare the man her daughter is in love with as she struggles to force said daughter to marry a man against her will. Lady Susan does not change at all over the curse of her story. Her daughter Frederica is the more sympathetic heroine.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': Edmund Pevensie for the first half of ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''. He intended to commit something vile against his siblings, even before the witch persuaded him into doing it. Fortunately, he does a HeelFaceTurn and becomes an AntiHero later.
* Simon Darcourt from ''Literature/ASnowballInHell'' spends an awful lot of time narrating his crimes to the reader with glee.
* Lysander in the last ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' book, ''Phaze Doubt''. Much of the book is spent trying to lure Lysander over to Phaze/Photon's cause (doubling as distracting him from his "real" mission as TheMole). [[spoiler:Even though he's essential in the good guys' eventual triumph, [[HonorBeforeReason he never actually switches sides]].]]
* Creator/UmbertoEco's novel ''Literature/ThePragueCemetery'' stars a racist, misogynistic forger whose only redeeming feature is his love of good food. He works as a PetRat for various reactionary groups and at one point disposes of a political opponent who was in possession of sensitive documents by [[CuttingTheKnot sinking the ship he was on]], killing the rest of the passengers in the process. The book starts with him penning down why he hates Germans, Italians, French, women, Jews, Catholics, Freemasons, and many others, and ends with him [[spoiler:penning ''Literature/TheProtocolsOfTheEldersOfZion'' as his magnum opus.]]. Notably, Eco wrote the book in part because of a SelfImposedChallenge to create the most despicable protagonist in literature.
* Jill from ''Literature/{{Blubber}}'' has no qualms in [[TheBully bullying]] an ActualPacifist classmate. [[KidsAreCruel She never seems to think of her as a sensitive human being]].
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Golden Age]]'', Ao Aeon points at Phaethon's behavior and assures him he is obviously the villain of the piece. In ''The Golden Transcendence'', Phaethon cites this to explain his behavior to Daphne, who is obviously, he explains, the heroine.
* We spend so much time experiencing ''[[Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings The Liveship Traders]]'' through Captain Kennit's POV that it sometimes becomes hard to remember that he really ''is'' the villain of the piece. Just an extremely charismatic, sympathetic villain who tends to overshadow his more heroic fellow-protagonists.
* Haplo of ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' begins as one of these. In addition to being the main character, he is also a member of the Patryn race, which seeks to subjugate all the worlds under Patryn rule. [[spoiler:Later, he becomes less of a villain.]]
** Specifically, his progression goes thusly- in the first two books, he's the flat-out [[TheDragon Dragon]] to [[EvilOverlord Lord Xar]], and though his backstory makes him sympathetic, there's no real doubt that he's a bad guy. Then, in books 3 and 4, he starts getting pitted against people ''much'' worse than he is, moving to more of a Type V AntiHero. [[spoiler: From the fifth book onward, Haplo has reevaluated his purpose and place in the universe, and though he never loses his ruthlessness or hard edges, he softens up enough to settle in as a Type III AntiHero]].
* The ''Literature/{{Private}}'' series SpinOff ''Privilege'' is from the point of view of Ariana Osgood, the villain of one of the books in the series.
* Most of the protagonists in ''[[Literature/ArabianNights Tales of 1001 Nights]]'' are thieves.
* ''Literature/ThereseRaquin'' is all about a woman who murders her husband to be with her lover.
* In ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'', Dorian Gray is corrupted by Lord Henry's ideas of [[TheHedonist hedonism]] and becomes a cruel man who does whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences, and ends up causing pain and death to several people. His [[ArtifactOfDoom portrait]] reflects Dorian's inner soul (and ages for him as well) and becomes uglier and uglier with each evil act he commits until it becomes monstrous.

* In ''Literature/RabbitRun,'' Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, the protagonist, does things like abandoning his wife and son on a whim, but the reader wants to see what Rabbit will do next to make a mess of his life and of the lifes of people around him.

* Creator/MichaelMoorcock created Colonel Pyat - a cocaine-addicted, self-aggrandising, violently anti-semitic [[BoomerangBigot Jewish engineer]] who worships Fascism and may or may not be a rapist. He's also the narrator of [[Literature/ThePyatQuartet his series of novels,]] [[UnreliableNarrator despite being an outrageous liar]].
* In Kim Newman's ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheDurbervilles'', Colonel Moran and Professor Moriarty are the main characters, with Moran being the narrator. Moran is a thief, misanthrope, cheat, thrill-junkie who kills animals for sport and men for pay. As a protagonist, he's somewhat sympathetic due to being kind of funny, and even though he's very capable, Moriarty often manipulates him for his own reasons. Likewise, Moriarty is shown as taking joy in solving problems (either scientific ones or seemingly impossible crimes), but he has very little in the way of positive emotions or impulses. Both have {{Freudian Excuse}}s, Moran had a mean angry dad so he became a mean angry man, and Moriarty's father was even worse.
* Creator/AsiHart is fond of these:
** ''Literature/TheManInTheCornerRoom'' has Peter, a university StudentCouncilPresident who ends up feeding a large number of people to a SoulEating demon in exchange for a vending machine.
** Nemecko from ''Literature/TheUltimateKillingGame'' is casually homicidal. It's a part of his job.
** Jonas from ''Literature/DecomposingAngel'' is quietly malicious and has some interesting morals. His boss is even more evil.
* ''Literature/BarryLyndon''. The title character is based on a real-life cad, and William Makepeace Thackaray hides no joy in having his villain protagonist gets what's coming to him, including a KarmicDeath. Creator/StanleyKubrick's adaptation makes Barry far more sympathetic (though still a jerk).
* The protagonist in ''Literature/EverybodyLovesLargeChests'' starts off as a dungeon mimic that loves eating adventurers. It Ranks Up into a tentacled abomination that loves devouring entire towns.
* The abominable Protagonists, from the novel ''Literature/HellsChildren'', by Andrew Boland, are this.
* Thornhill is one of these by the end of ''Literature/TheSecretRiver'', having [[spoiler:facilitated a genocide in order to avoid having to sell a hundred acres.]]
* Lucius Cornelius Sulla from Colleen [=McCullough=]'s ''Literature/MastersOfRome'' series is a pretty mean guy. He [[spoiler:brings about the deaths of his stepmother, her nephew and his stepmother's lover in order to inherit their fortune (and kills ''another'' man to frame him for the murders), treats his wife harshly to the point of driving her to suicide, and travels up north to spy on a group of Germans where he meets and impregnates a woman, he later arranges for his German family to be protected and leaves them]]. And that's all in the first book.
* Doctor Impossible from ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'' is pretty comfortable with being the Evil MadScientist, albeit with a sort of flamboyant [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] kind of villainy. But even if he turns out to be a fairly nice and somewhat misunderstood guy, he ''is'' [[CardboardPrison breaking out of jail for the thirteenth time]] to launch yet another EvilPlan to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy]] or TakeOverTheWorld, and that's not even counting ones [[VillainExitStageLeft where he got away]].
* Alex from ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' at the first part of the book who just wants to have fun. For him this fun includes riding out with his ''droogs'' to brutally beat up elderly hobos, run over animals, rape and ultimately murder. Once he's given the Ludovico Treatment, the tables are turned and he becomes a helpless victim at the mercy of others including his former victims. Alex ultimately [[RetiredMonster retires at the end of the book]].
* "Literature/NoughtsAndCrosses" second book Knife Edge is narrated by Sephy, Meggie and Jude. During this book he's a terrorist on the run from the police [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain who wants revenge on all Crosses]]. He eventually [[spoiler:beats his Cross girlfriend to death after he finds himself having feelings for her]].
* Cersei Lannister in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', when she's the POV character. Victarion fills this role as well. Jaime and Theon start out as this, but undergo a FaceHeelTurn.
* Humbert Humbert from Creator/VladimirNabokov's ''Literature/{{Lolita}}''. Altogether a charming, well-spoken and eloquent historian of French literature, liked by the reader and nearly anyone who meets him. Too bad he is also a pedophile who marries a woman in order to abuse her twelve-year-old daughter, then proceeds to lie to said daughter about the death of her mother while taking her on a not-quite-consensual road trip, on which he at first tries to drug her so that he can have intercourse with her, then manipulates her into letting him do it anyway. [[spoiler: And then offers as his excuse that she wasn't a virgin.]]
* The titular character of ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' in the first book. A [[AmbitionIsEvil greedy]], MagnificentBastard [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]], at only [[ChildProdigy twelve years old]]. He starts actually helping out in the rest of the series, [[EnemyMine begrudgingly at first]], but then continuing on to become a genuinely good person, officially pulling a HeelFaceTurn in ''The Opal Deception''.
* Lord Soth of Dargaard Keep, a death knight, was originally a villain in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels. Three novels were later released starring Soth as the main character: ''Knight of the Black Rose'' and ''Spectre of the Black Rose'' by James Lowder and Voronica Whitney Robinson, and the eponymous ''Lord Soth'' by Edo van Belkom.
* ''Literature/ParadiseLost''. Half of the story follows the War in Heaven, in which {{Satan}} himself is the protagonist. Putting Satan center stage and allowing him to work his diabolical charisma on the reader is a major source of the poem's appeal.
* In the cultivation web serial ''Reverend Insanity'', the main character is an utterly amoral psychopath whose only consideration is pursuing strength. The story is interesting due to his methods, as he never acts without purpose, and only uses violence when it's pragmatic.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'s'' ''I, Strahd'', is a novel about the history of - who else? - Strahd, a vampire overlord who was cursed after killing his brother to take his bride, forcing the woman into suicide to escape him.
* This is usually the case in ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles''. Some protagonists are sympathetic characters, some have a few good qualities, but most are villains, at least in the traditional sense.
* Patrick Bateman from ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' is a deliciously AxCrazy SerialKiller who tortures and murders a wide variety of innocent people in the story, simply because he likes the feeling. [[spoiler:But even if he's just imagining that, he's still an unlikable, self-centered, elitist, racist, shallow bastard.]]
* ''Film/TheEagleHasLanded'' follows a group of Nazi agents attempting to assassinate UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill. You'll still likely find yourself rooting for them at a few points.
* Donald E. Westlake:
** Literature/{{Parker}}, the central protagonist of a series of novels that Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Several of these have been filmed (most famously as ''Film/PointBlank1967'' starring Creator/LeeMarvin, and ''Film/{{Payback}}'' starring Creator/MelGibson), although the central character is not named Parker in these adaptations due to the author's request. Parker has no moral hang ups about killing, stealing, or torturing to get what he wants, and what he wants is usually money or revenge for not getting money.
** Westlake also wrote a series of novels under his real name about [[Literature/{{Dortmunder}} John Dortmunder]], a professional burglar. The books are much LighterAndSofter than the Parker series, and generally PlayedForLaughs. Several of these have also been turned into movies, including ''Film/TheHotRock''.
* Literature/{{Wyatt}} is the thief protagonist of a series of novels (starting with ''Kickback'') by Australian author Garry Disher. You will end up barracking for Wyatt as his schemes bring him into conflict with worse criminals who lack even Wyatt's basic sense of honour and ethics.
* Mary Gentle's ''Literature/{{Grunts}}'' tells the story of a group of orcs just trying to make their way in the world. After they loot a [[DragonHoard dragon's hoard]] that has weapons from assorted universes, including some from the US Marines and assorted literature (including ''Das Kapital'', which turns one female orc into a Communist Commissar). The book is an acid-tipped parody of ''Lord of the Rings'', and ''none'' of the characters are heroes in the traditional sense.
* A number of the books by Gregory Maguire (author of ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'') feature villains from well-known stories as the protagonist. For example, the queen from ''Literature/SnowWhite'' (in ''Mirror, Mirror''), and one of the stepsisters from ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' (in ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'').
* ''Literature/{{Grendel}}'' by John Gardner is a TwiceToldTale, retelling ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' with Grendel as the protagonist.
* The Hitman from Thomas Perry's first novel ''Literature/TheButchersBoy''. He is a sociopathic, amoral killer of considerable ability who has to evade both government agents and Mafia thugs when a Mafia boss tries to have him killed after a successful hit on a U.S. Senator that can be traced back to the latter.
* Creator/MercedesLackey, in one of her stories featuring fantasy elves in the real world, had a cold-hearted, ruthless bitch of an antagonist who was quite willing to kill children if the job required it. The only problem was that she was going after a family that were protected by those same, very powerful, elves acting in secret to protect them. The sheer magnitude of her hapless floundering around as she was constantly thwarted in one long HumiliationConga would make you feel sorry for her if you didn't remind yourself that she was a murderous sociopath.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is written from the point of view of a repressive, racist, mass=murdering officer in a dictatorship.

** Literature/{{Parker}}, the central protagonist of a series of novels that Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Several of these have been filmed (most famously as ''Film/PointBlank'' starring Creator/LeeMarvin, and ''Film/{{Payback}}'' starring Creator/MelGibson), although the central character is not named Parker in these adaptations due to the author's request. Parker has no moral hang ups about killing, stealing, or torturing to get what he wants, and what he wants is usually money or revenge for not getting money.

* ''Literature/Victoria'' is written from the point of view of repressive, racist, mass murdering officer in a dictatorship.

* ''Literature/ParadiseLost''. Half of the story follows the War in Heaven, in which Satan is the protagonist. Putting Satan center stage and allowing him to work his diabolical charisma on the reader is a major source of the poem's appeal.
* In the cultivation web serial Reverend Insanity, the main character is an utterly amoral psychopath whose only consideration is pursuing strength. The story is interesting due to his methods, as he never acts without purpose, and only uses violence when it's pragmatic.

* While ''Literature/TheGapCycle'' has [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters plenty of protagonists]], most of whom are villainous to some extent, it's strongly dominated by Angus Thermopyle, a man who starts the story as a pirate, murderer, and rapist. He does get a bit less horrible over the course of the story, but even at the end he's a NobleDemon at best. Creator/StephenRDonaldson has stated that he hesitated to publish the first book in the series, because he didn't like what it said about him that he found it so easy to write Angus.

* Cersei Lannister in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', when she's the POV character.

* ''Touching Spirit Bear'': Cole Matthews started off as a villain. [[HeKnowsToMuch He attacked someone because that person did what any sane man would do if someone raided a building.]] Flashbacks show that he probably would've not been this this hadn't his father been so [[AbusiveParents abusive]].

* ''Literature/TheRulesOfSupervillainy'' stars Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless, a RidiculouslyAverageGuy who has the disturbing desire to be a supervillain. He becomes ''extremely'' good at, even if there are some boundaries he won't cross. It helps his victims tend to be much-much worse.

* ''Literature/SecretSanta'': Erik Bigelow is the [=POV=] character and focus of the story. He's also a bullying slacker and thief who gets anyone who might be promoted over him fired and sexually harasses his executive assistant Marcy and the associate editor of ''Antiques Now!''

* Alex from ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' at the first part of the book. Once he's given the Ludovico Treatment, the tables are turned and he becomes a helpless victim at the mercy of others including his former victims. Alex ultimately [[RetiredMonster retires at the end of the book]].

* The protagonists of ''Literature/BlackLegion'' are all founding members of one of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40 000}}'''s most evil factions. Notable is the narrator, Khayon, who, while AffablyEvil, doesn't shy away from feeding his slaves to his prisoner or {{Mind Rap|e}}ing his rival.

* While some would argue that ''every'' ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel has a Villain Protagonist [[CrapsackWorld by]] [[BlackAndGrayMorality default]], the Chaos Space Marine viewpoint characters of Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''Storm of Iron'' and Anthony Reynolds' ''Literature/WordBearers'' trilogy definitely qualify.
** As do Andy Chambers' books, ''Literature/PathOfTheRenegade'' and ''Path of the Incubus'', which feature the Dark Eldar as protagonists.
** In the ''Literature/ThousandSons'' trilogy, Ahriman might have honourable traits, sympathetic motives and arguably noble goals, but at the end of the day, he’s still a Chaos Space Marine and he is by no means a heroic character. The second book drives this point home early on when he exterminates the population of an entire world, simply to set up a single element of a trap for ''one'' of his enemies that won’t even be sprung for centuries.

* In, ''Literature/RabbitRun,'' Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, the protagonist, does things like abandoning his wife and son on a whim, but the reader wants to see what Rabbit will do next to make a mess of his life and of the lifes of people around him.

* ''Literature/TheEyeOfTheNeedle'' has a villain co-protagonist, since it spends far more pages following the spy's progress across England than it spends with the heroine who eventually brings him down.

* Alex from ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' at the first part of the book. Once he's given the Ludovico Treatment, the tables are turned and he becomes a helpless victim at the mercy of others including his former victims. Alex ultimately [[RetiredMonster retires]] at the end of the book]].

* The protagonist and other Freikorps soldiers in ''Literature/TheOutlaws'' embody this trope, at least from the viewpoint of modern Western audience. They all are ruthless and often cruel right-wing extremists whose goal is to smash the Communists and overthrow a democratic government.