Showing results by author "Fyodor Dostoyevsky" in All Categories

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Oscar Wilde claimed that The Humiliated and Insulted is "not at all inferior to the other great masterpieces," and Friedrich Nietzsche is said to have wept over it. Its construction is that of an intricate detective novel, and the reader is plunged into a world of moral degradation, childhood trauma, and unrequited love. Found at the center of the story are a young struggling author, an orphaned teenager, and a depraved aristocrat who not only foreshadows the great figures of evil in Dostoevsky's later fiction, but is a powerful and original presence in his own right.

The Brothers Karamazov is a tale of a complicated and broken family headed by a father, Fyodor Karamazov, who becomes entangled with his three sons, whom he neglected, after both mothers died.

The young Sergei is summoned from St Petersburg by his uncle, the retired colonel Yegor Rostanev, to the remote country estate of Stepanchikovo. Rostanev’s household, populated by a medley of remarkable characters, is dominated by the figure of Foma Opiskin, a devious, manipulative hanger-on who has everyone in thrall and plots to marry the colonel to the woman of his choice, Tatyana Ivanovna. When Opiskin finds that his plans are being thwarted, a confrontation with Rostanev ensues, and all hell is let loose.

Dostoevsky’s narrator is the anonymous voice of the masterful novella. Retired and isolated from society, he is bitter, contemptuous, and contemplative as he presents his anecdotes and philosophical outlooks. Presented as an extract from the narrator’s memoirs, Notes from the Underground is divided into two parts. Opening with a monologue attacking Western philosophy, Dostoevsky follows this theoretical exploration with the anti-hero’s accounts of various destructive and restorative life experiences.

The Double was published in 1846. A classic of doppelgänger literature, it is conidered one of Dostoyvesky's most significant shorter works. Our protagonist, Golyadkin senior, is persecuted by his double, Golyadkin junior, who resembles him closely in almost every detail. The latter abuses the former with mounting scorn and brutality as the tale proceeds toward its frightening denouement.

A delightful anthology of great works by some of Europe's greatest short story writers....

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. The Russian Literary Tradition has justly earned a magnificent reputation. The Russian Empire of the Czars was a huge and disparate patchwork of peoples ruled by an overbearing elite that employed a middle-class bureaucracy to keep the working class firmly underfoot. Within its vaulted ranks are a role call of many of the greatest literary talents of the ages.

Living in a squalid room in St. Petersburg, the indigent but proud Rodion Raskolnikov believes he is above society. Obsessed with the idea of breaking the law, Raskolnikov resolves to kill an old pawnbroker for her cash. Although the murder and robbery are bungled, Raskolnikov manages to escape without being seen. And with nothing to prove his guilt and a mendacious confessor in police custody, Raskolnikov seems to have committed the perfect crime. But in Dostoyevsky’s world of moral transgressions, with its reason and its consequences, Raskolnikov’s plan has a devastating hitch.

Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from an asylum in Switzerland. As he becomes embroiled in the frantic amatory and financial intrigues that center around a cast of brilliantly realized characters and that ultimately lead to tragedy, he emerges as a unique combination of the Christian ideal of perfection and Dostoevsky's own views, afflictions, and manners. His serene selflessness is contrasted with the worldly qualities of every other character in the novel.

"The Grand Inquisitor" is a central chapter of Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. The middle brother, Ivan, is having a conversation with his younger brother, Alyosha. Ivan represents the rationalist and nihilistic ideology that permeated Russia in the 19th Century. Alyosha's beliefs counterbalance his brother's. He embodies hope. Ivan tells Alyosha a vision where the grand inquisitor, during the Spanish inquisition, encounters Jesus Christ, who has made a return to Earth.

While contemplating his life and deeming himself ridiculous, a man on the verge of suicide is interrupted by a young girl begging for his help. In his dark mood, he brushes her away, but when he returns home to commit the act he cannot move past his feelings of guilt over his treatment of the girl.

Notes from Underground is an 1864 novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Notes 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 first part of the story is told in monologue form, or the underground man's diary, and attacks emerging Western philosophy, especially Nikolay Chernyshevsky's What Is to Be Done?. The second part of the book is called "Àpropos of the Wet Snow," and ...

"Brat'ya Karamazovy" - posledniy roman F. M. Dostoevskogo, kotoryy avtor pisal dva goda. Roman byl napechatan chastyami v zhurnale "Russkiy vestnik". Dostoevskiy zadumyval roman kak pervuyu chast' epicheskogo romana "Istoriya Velikogo greshnika". Proizvedenie bylo okoncheno v noyabre 1880 goda. Pisatel' umer cherez dva mesyatsa posle publikatsii. Ispolnyaet Mihail Ul'yanov.

Although titled The Possessed in the initial English translation, Dostoyevsky scholars and later translations favour the titles The Devils or Demons. An extremely political book, Demons is a testimonial of life in Imperial Russia in the late 19th century. As the revolutionary democrats begin to rise in Russia, different ideologies begin to collide. 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. This form of ...

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821, to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background. In 1846 he published his first novel ‘Poor Cow’ to great literary acclaim. His next was unable to emulate that success but his short stories helped provide an income. ‘The Dream of a Ridiculous Man’ is one of his many classic short stories that turn a splinter of the ordinary into the spiralling descent of chaos.

The Essential Classics: Volume 2 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Adjoa Andoh, Rupert Degas, Kobna Holdbrook Smith, Leighton Pugh, and Jonathan Keeble. Spanning the Atlantic, this collection includes stories of vampiric horror in Dracula, Orwell's modern masterpiece, Animal Farm, as well as Emily Brontë's timeless tale of love on the moors, Wutheirng Heights, and more.

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. 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 world literature.

Celebrate the magic and warmth of the holiday season with The Essential Christmas Collection, a curated anthology of timeless stories that capture the spirit of Christmas. From classic tales of generosity and joy to heartfelt moments of reflection, this collection will transport you to a world where miracles and Christmas cheer come to life. This enchanting compendium is perfect for cosy winter nights, family gatherings, and anyone seeking to rekindle the true meaning of Christmas. Enjoy these classic tales that have delighted generations and continue to bring joy year after year.

The Karamazov brothers are as different as mind, body, and spirit. Ivan, an atheist and brooding intellectual; Dmitri, a volatile sensualist and his father's rival for the beautiful Grushenka; and Alexey, driven by unshakeable piety. In their shadow is their rejected half-brother, humiliated into servitude. Together they act to rid themselves of the dissolute Karamazov patriarch. Then, in a single shocking act, the fates of the brothers are inexorably altered.