The phrase is generally traced back to English literature, not to a single famous historical figure like a politician or philosopher. In its familiar wording, “All is fair in love and war” comes from a 19th‑century novel.

Who said “everything is fair in love and war”?

Most scholars point to the proverb’s modern form appearing in the 1850 novel Frank Fairleigh by English author Francis Edward Smedley, where the line “All is fair in love and war” is used. So, when people ask “who said everything/all is fair in love and war?”, Smedley is usually credited with the earliest clearly documented version in this exact wording.

Earlier roots of the idea

Long before Smedley, the underlying idea appeared in earlier works:

  • John Lyly’s 1578–1579 novel Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit includes a sentiment that in love, normal rules of fair play do not apply.
  • Thomas Shelton’s 1620 English translation of Cervantes’ Don Quixote contains a proverb-like line: “Love and war are all one,” equating love and war as realms where tricks and stratagems are acceptable.

These earlier sources show that the thought “anything goes in love and war” was circulating centuries before the exact phrase became popular.

So, who gets the credit?

In short:

  • Earliest idea : John Lyly and other early writers who suggested that love suspends ordinary rules.
  • Earliest near-forms : Phrases like “Love and war are all one” in 17th–18th century literature.
  • Earliest exact phrase “All is fair in love and war”: Francis Edward Smedley in Frank Fairleigh (1850).

Because of this, Smedley is typically named as the person who first wrote the proverb in the form people quote today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.