Most Popular Books by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Demons is an anti-nihilistic novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is the third of the four great novels written by Dostoyevsky after his return from Siberian exile, the others being Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. Demons is a social and political satire, a psychological drama, and large scale tragedy.

Crime and Punishment (pre-reform Russian; post-reform Russian: is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. It is the second of Dostoevsky''s full-length novels following his return from ten years of exile in Siberia. Crime and Punishment is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel is often cited as one of the supreme achievements in literature.Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money. Before the killing, Raskolnikov believes that with the money he could liberate himself from poverty and go on to perform great deeds. However, once it is done he finds himself racked with confusion, paranoia, and disgust for his actions. His justifications disintegrate completely as he struggles with guilt and horror and confronts the real-world consequences of his deed.

Considered one of the greatest achievements in Russian literature, The Idiot made its debut in 1869. Prince Myshkin, a gentle, compassionate man, falls in love with two very different women amid the intrigues of 19th century St. Petersburg society. Sayre Street Books offers the world''s greatest literature in easy to navigate, beautifully designed digital editions.

The reader is plunged into a world of moral degradation, childhood trauma and above all of unrequited love and irreconcilable relationships. At the centre of the story is a young struggling author, a traumatised orphaned teenager, and a depraved aristocrat.

This premium quality large print volume includes the complete and unabridged classic translation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky''s " Crime and Punishment" -- a work which became an enduring and still-popular classic, exerting a world-wide influence that continues today. This freshly edited and newly typeset edition features heavyweight 60# bright white paper and a large 7.44"x9.69" page size with a fully laminated cover featuring an original full color design. Also included in this volume is extensive introductory commentary, including biographical and critical essays, discussing Dostoyevsky''s life, work and literary significance, to provide useful background information for the modern reader. "Crime and Punishment..." A psychological novel written before the phrase "psychological novel" existed, "Crime and Punishment" is widely regarded as Dostoyevsky''s masterpiece, establishing his reputation as a powerful and influential novelist. Against the backdrop of the oppressive heat and smell of summer in St. Petersburg and in the shadow of religious faith, Dostoyevsky explores complex themes of alienation, criminal psychology, guilt, nihilism, expiation, atonement, and what might today be considered narcissistic personality disorder and in an earlier time might have been called megalomania. Convinced that "superior" people, like himself, are above the law, Raskolnikov believes that he could make much better use of an old woman''s wealth and decides he is entitled to rob her. When the robbery goes horribly wrong, Raskolnikov begins to doubt his superiority, and his growing guilt and a cat-and-mouse game that ensues with Porfiry Petrovich, the shrewd police investigator, drives him further into isolation and despair. Focusing on the psychological punishment Raskolnikov suffers as a result of his crime, Dostoyevsky suggests that true rehabilitation can come only through atonement and redemption, regardless of any punishment meted out by the authorities. Like Dickens in England, Dostoyevsky was embraced by the masses about whom he wrote and to whom he spoke, despite criticism by contemporary "experts" who found his subject matter unsuitable for "literature" and his work lacking in style and technical merit. And like Dickens, Dostoyevsky has become an inextricable part of the culture of his country and the essential literature of the world.

"To love is to suffer and there can be no love otherwise" - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground The darkly fascinating novella Notes From The Underground was written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1864, shortly before he penned his lengthier later novels, including The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. Considered by many to be one of the first existentialist novels it follows the complicated mind of a bitter, retired civil servant (generally referred to by critics as the Underground Man), who lives alone in St. Petersburg, Russia in the mid 19th century. Able to retire after recently inheriting some money, the narrator in full retreat from society has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In full retreat from society, he scrawls a passionate, obsessive, self-contradictory rambling narrative that runs the gamut from human morality, to logic and reason and serves as a devastating attack on emerging Western and contemporary Russian philosophy, as well as social utopianism and an assertion of man''s essentially irrational nature. These memoirs or confessions describe and explain his alienation from modern society and the work can be viewed as an attack on and rebellion against determinism, the idea that everything, including the human personality and will, can be reduced to the laws of nature, science and mathematics. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the narrator is a doubting, alienated protagonist in a novella that introduces the moral, religious, political and social themes that dominated Dostoyevsky''s later masterworks.

The short works of Dostoevsky exist in the very large shadow of his astonishing longer novels, but they too are among literature''s most revered works and offer keys to understanding the themes in his longer works. Contained in this volume are the short stories "White Nights," "A Disgraceful Affair," and "The Dream of the Ridiculous Man," three of Dostoevsky''s most troubling, moving, and poignant works. Alongside A DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR, Harper Perennial will publish the short fiction of Stephen Crane, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, Leo Tolstoy, and Oscar Wilde to be packaged in a beautifully designed, boldly colorful boxset in the aim to attract contemporary fans of short fiction to these revered masters of the form. Also, in each of these selections will appear a story from one of the new collections being published in 2009. A story from Barb Johnson''s forthcoming collection will be printed at the back of this volume.

"The House of the Dead" is a semi-autobiographical novel published in 1861 by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which portrays the life of convicts in a Siberian prison camp. The book is a loosely-knit collection of facts and events organised by "theme" rather than as a continuous story. Dostoyevsky himself spent four years in exile in such a camp following his conviction for involvement in the Petrashevsky Circle. This experience allowed him to describe with great authenticity the conditions of prison life and the characters of the convicts.

The Possessed is a testimonial of life in Imperial Russia in the late 19th century. Dostoyevsky casts a critical eye on both the radical idealists, portraying their ideas and ideological foundation as demonic, and the conservative establishment''s ineptitude in dealing with those ideas and their social consequences. The books five primary characters represent different ideologies and by exploring their philosophies Dostoyevsky describes the political chaos seen in 19th century Russia. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer and philosopher whose literary works explore human psychology in the context of the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.

"Notes from the Underground" is considered by many to be the first existentialist novel. It presents itself as an excerpt from the rambling memoirs of a bitter, isolated, unnamed narrator (generally referred to by critics as the Underground Man) who is a retired civil servant living in St. Petersburg.

The Idiot is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in the journal The Russian Messenger in 1868-9. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince Lyov Nikolaevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness and open-hearted simplicity lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man." The novel examines the consequences of placing such a unique individual at the centre of the conflicts, desires, passions and egoism of worldly society, both for the man himself and for those with whom he becomes involved. The result, according to philosopher A.C. Grayling, is "one of the most excoriating, compelling and remarkable books ever written; and without question one of the greatest."

"The Gambler" is a short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky about a young tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian general. The novella reflects Dostoyevsky''s own addiction to roulette, which was in more ways than one the inspiration for the book: Dostoyevsky completed the novella under a strict deadline to pay off gambling debts.

Most significant of the Russian novelist''s early stories (1846) offers straight-faced treatment of hallucinatory theme. Golyadkin senior is ruthlessly persecuted by Golyadkin junior, his double in almost every respect.

Driven by the belief that he is meant to kill, Raskolnikov brutally murders an elderly pawnbroker and her sister. But when talk of the unsolved murders consumes the city, Raskolnikov''s guilt overtakes him and he wanders the streets in a feverish state, leading police detective Porfiry suspect his involvement. As the investigation closes in on him, Raskolnikov seeks solace in the company of Sonya, a virtuous prostitute who urges him to confess his crime and seek redemption. Crime and Punishment is a revealing portrait of a man confronting, for the first time, his morality and the moral consequences of his actions. The novel is widely recognized as author Fyodor Dostoyevsky''s argument against the radical behaviours practised by nineteenth-century Russian Nihilists. Be it mystery, romance, drama, comedy, politics, or history, great literature stands the test of time. ClassicJoe proudly brings literary classics to today''s digital readers, connecting those who love to read with authors whose work continues to get people talking. Look for other fiction and non-fiction classics from ClassicJoe.

At the heart of Fyodor Dostoyevsky''s The Possessed or, The Devils is Nikolai Stavrogin, a complex and enigmatic figure whose presence drives the narrative forward. Published in 1872, the novel is set in a provincial Russian town and explores the destructive influence of radical ideologies and nihilistic philosophies that were sweeping through Russian society at the time. Stavrogin, with his charismatic presence and profound inner turmoil, is the central axis around which the story revolves. His character embodies the contradictions of a society torn between traditional values and modern ideologies. Despite his aristocratic background and intellectual prowess, Stavrogin is haunted by a sense of moral emptiness and spiritual disconnection, which makes him both fascinating and terrifying to those around him. His mysterious past, marked by scandalous and violent episodes, further adds to the enigma surrounding him. The novel delves into the psychological and philosophical complexities of its characters, particularly through Stavrogin''s interactions with others. His relationships with figures like Kirillov, an idealistic and troubled individual, and Shatov, a former revolutionary turned conservative, highlight the fragility of moral convictions in the face of ideological fervor. These interactions expose the darker aspects of human nature and the destructive power of unchecked radicalism. The novel grapples with themes of atheism, faith, and the search for meaning in a world increasingly defined by uncertainty and moral ambiguity. Stavrogin''s struggles reflect broader societal issues, including the clash between traditional values and modern ideologies. His character serves as a symbol of the moral and spiritual crises that can arise when individuals lose their connection to faith and tradition.

"Poor Folk" is the first novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, written over the span of nine months between 1844 and 1845. Dostoyevsky was in financial difficulty because of his extravagant living and his developing gambling addiction. Varvara Dobroselova and Makar Devushkin are second cousins twice-removed and live across from each other on the same street in terrible apartments. Devushkin''s, for example, is merely a portioned-off section of the kitchen, and he lives with several other tenants, such as the Gorshkovs, whose son who groans in agonising hunger almost the entire story and eventually dies. Devushkin and Dobroselova exchange letters attesting to their terrible living conditions and the former frequently squanders his money on gifts for her.

Poor Folk, sometimes translated as Poor People, is the first novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, written over the span of nine months between 1844 and 1845. Dostoyevsky was in financial difficulty because of his extravagant living and his developing gambling addiction; although he had produced some translations of foreign novels, they had little success, and he decided to write a novel of his own to try to raise funds.

The Gambler is a short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky about a young tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian general. The novella reflects Dostoyevsky''s own addiction to roulette, which was in more ways than one the inspiration for the book: Dostoyevsky completed the novella under a strict deadline to pay off gambling debts.

Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume.