[FGZstar] Not Hercules.
[INJ] Yes, written before 1800.

Original question, I know. Though irach did say "published in two parts", and we can't go too much further back before "published" stops being a meaningful concept.

[jim] Yes, both parts first came out in print prior to 1700.

Just a wild stab at a windmill in the dark...

[jim] The baton...or lance in this case is passed to you...Don Quixote it is! The books Part I, El Ingenioso Hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha and its sequel were published for Cervantes ten years apart, in 1604 and 1614 by publisher Francisco de Robles. Incidentally, Don Quixote was one of the first bestseller books for which pirated editions soon appeared in the marketplace. The fact that I considered Don Quixote as being a little more immortal than just famous for being a fictional character (in response to CdM's question) is that the personality trait adjective "quixotic" has also been derived from his name.

---