Dostoevsky 1821-1881 [Hardcover]

The bare events of Dostoevskys life  his father murdered by peasants, his own ordeal before a firing squad, then exile in Siberia, his epilepsy, gambling, poverty and debts  go far to account for his strange intensity of vision. This biography, first published in 1931, traces his wayward development, from his strict and secluded childhood to his debut as literary pimple, through his years of anguish, to his maturity as artist and final apotheosis as Russian patriot.

Written some fifty years after Dostoevskys death, when the material necessary for a full study first became available, Carrs classic study reflects an approach to the life and genius of Dostoevsky dominated by the concerns of the mid-twentieth century. With its illuminating chapters on each of the great novels and its stylistic precision, this treatment of Dostoevsky remains a perfect introduction to the man, both as a novelist and as a human being.

Introductory Note  Book One  1. Childhood  2. Early Years in Petersburg  3. Firstfruits  4. Catastrophe  5. The House of the Dead  Book Two  6. Exile and First Marriage  7. Journalistic Experiment  8. Intimate Life  9. Years of Anguish  10. Interludes mainly Sentimental  Book Three  11. Annus Mirabilis  12. First Months Abroad  13. Residence Abroad Continued  14. The Ethical Problem  Crime and Punishment  15. The Ethical Ideal  The Idiot  16. Ethics and Politics  The Devils  Book Four  17. Return to Russia  18. Dostoevsky as Psychologist  A Raw Youth  19. Dostoevsky as Publicist  The Journal of an Author  20. Dostoevsky as Prophet  The Brothers Karamazov  21. Apotheolc0