Published as a serial novel in The Russian Messenger from 1868-1869, The Idiot is Fyodor Dostoevsky's frustratingly beautiful masterpiece translated into modern and accessible English by Eva Martin. Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a positively good and beautiful man, has returned home to Russia after an extended stay at a sanitarium in Switzerland. Open-hearted, sincere, and somewhat simple, the young prince seems to leave an impression...
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's successful first book, Poor Folk, came out 175 years ago today when the author was only 24 years old. But in a life beset by drama worthy of, say, a Russian novel, it would be many years before he produced a notable follow-up. Here we explore the literary giant’s best books and how they mirror his extraordinary life.