Other editions of book The Idiot

Prince Lyov Nikolayevitch Myshkin is one of the great characters in Russian literature. Is he a saint or just naïve? Is he an idealist or, as many in General Epanchin's society feel, an "idiot"? Certainly his return to St. Petersburg after years in a Swiss clinic has a dramatic effect on the beautiful Aglaia, youngest of the Epanchin daughters, and on the charismatic but willful Nastasya Filippovna. As he paints a vivid picture of Russian society, Dostoyevsky shows how principles conflict with emotions - with tragic results.

In The Idiot, the saintly Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from a Swiss sanatorium and finds himself a stranger in a society obsessed with wealth, power, and sexual conquest. He soon becomes entangled in a love triangle with a notorious kept woman, Nastasya, and a beautiful young girl, Aglaya. Extortion and scandal escalate to murder, as Dostoevsky’s “positively beautiful man” clashes with the emptiness of a society that cannot accommodate his innocence and moral idealism. The Idiot is both a powerful indictment of that society and a rich and gripping masterpiece. From award-winning translators, a masterful new translation–never before published–of the novel in which Fyodor Dostoevsky set out to portray a truly beautiful soul.

"The Idiot" is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1868 novel which tells the story of Prince Lyov Nikolayevich Myshkin who, after a long absence, returns to Russia from Switzerland where he sought treatment for his epilepsy. The story is primarily a tragic tale of the struggle for the love of a woman, Nastasya Filippovna, between Myshkin and Rogozhin, a dark and impassioned man that the Prince meets on the train to St. Petersburg. "The Idiot" is a classic tale of the conflict between good and evil. On the one hand Prince Myshkin represents Dostoyevksy's attempt to portray a Christ-like "positively good man" which is sharply contrasted with not only the dark and roguish character of Rogozhin but also with the nature of Russian upper-class society depicted in the novel.

This premium quality large print edition contains the complete and unabridged original classic version of The Idiot, printed on heavyweight, bright white paper in a large 7.44"x9.69" format, with a fully laminated full-color cover featuring an original design. Also included is authoritative introductory commentary discussing the life and work of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Idiot in particular, providing the modern reader with useful background information to enhance the enjoyment of this classic novel. "The Idiot" is Prince Lev Nikolaievich Myshkin, returning to Russia after a long stay at a Swiss sanitorium. Prone to blackouts and learning difficulties as a youth, he has been treated with some success, but the society of St. Petersburg scorns him, viewing as idiocy his simple honesty, trustful nature and naiveté. Finding himself at the center of an increasingly complex entanglement involving a beautiful kept woman and a virtuous and pretty young girl, both of whom win his affection, and the men who love - or desire - them, Myshkin's unfettered goodness precipitates a tragic chain of events with disastrous consequences. Beginning with the chance meeting of Myshkin, light-haired, blue-eyed, affable and unassuming and the dark and intense Rogozhin on the train to St. Petersburg, "The Idiot" is a study in contrasts, exploring themes of good and evil, honesty and deceit, passion and self-control, through the story of Myshkin, "a positively good man," thrust into a society which espouses as values the very qualities which it derides as "idiocy," and questioning whether human society has a place for the true and unflinching honesty and trust of a saintly man. Complex and dense with rich characters and evocative questions about human nature and society, ranked among the finest of Dostoyevsky's works, "The Idiot" is often considered one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the Golden Age of Russian literature. 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.

“My intention is to portray a truly beautiful soul.” —DostoevskyDespite the harsh circumstances besetting his own life—abject poverty, incessant gambling, the death of his youngest child—Dostoevsky produced a second masterpiece, The Idiot, after completing Crime and Punishment. In it, a saintly man, Prince Myshkin, is thrust into the heart of a society more concerned with wealth, power, and sexual conquest than with the ideals of Christianity. Myshkin soon finds himself at the center of a violent love triangle in which a notorious woman and a beautiful young girl become rivals for his affections.Extortion, scandal, and murder follow, testing Myshkin’s moral feelings, as Dostoevsky searches through the wreckage left by human misery to find “man in man.” The Idiot is a quintessentially Russian novel, one that penetrates the complex psyche of the Russian people. “They call me a psychologist,” wrote Dostoevsky. “That is not true. I’m only a realist in the higher sense; that is, I portray all the depths of the human soul.”

“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 (Knyaz) Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness and open-hearted simplicity lead many of the worldlier 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 center 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."

In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky, master of the philosphical novel, 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 is, according to A.C. Grayling, "one of the most excoriating, compelling and remarkable books ever written; and without question one of the greatest."

"The Idiot" is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1868 novel which tells the story of Prince Lyov Nikolayevich Myshkin who, after a long absence, returns to Russia from Switzerland where he sought treatment for his epilepsy. The story is primarily a tragic tale of the struggle for the love of a woman, Nastasya Filippovna, between Myshkin and Rogozhin, a dark and impassioned man that the Prince meets on the train to St. Petersburg. "The Idiot" is a classic tale of the conflict between good and evil. On the one hand Prince Myshkin represents Dostoyevksy's attempt to portray a Christ-like "positively good man" which is sharply contrasted with not only the dark and roguish character of Rogozhin but also with the nature of Russian upper-class society depicted in the novel.

This premium quality large print edition contains the complete and unabridged original classic version of The Idiot, printed on heavyweight, bright white paper in a large 7.44"x9.69" format, with a fully laminated full-color cover featuring an original design. Also included is authoritative introductory commentary discussing the life and work of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Idiot in particular, providing the modern reader with useful background information to enhance the enjoyment of this classic novel. "The Idiot" is Prince Lev Nikolaievich Myshkin, returning to Russia after a long stay at a Swiss sanitorium. Prone to blackouts and learning difficulties as a youth, he has been treated with some success, but the society of St. Petersburg scorns him, viewing as idiocy his simple honesty, trustful nature and naiveté. Finding himself at the center of an increasingly complex entanglement involving a beautiful kept woman and a virtuous and pretty young girl, both of whom win his affection, and the men who love - or desire - them, Myshkin's unfettered goodness precipitates a tragic chain of events with disastrous consequences. Beginning with the chance meeting of Myshkin, light-haired, blue-eyed, affable and unassuming and the dark and intense Rogozhin on the train to St. Petersburg, "The Idiot" is a study in contrasts, exploring themes of good and evil, honesty and deceit, passion and self-control, through the story of Myshkin, "a positively good man," thrust into a society which espouses as values the very qualities which it derides as "idiocy," and questioning whether human society has a place for the true and unflinching honesty and trust of a saintly man. Complex and dense with rich characters and evocative questions about human nature and society, ranked among the finest of Dostoyevsky's works, "The Idiot" is often considered one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the Golden Age of Russian literature. 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.

In an age before psychology was a modern scientific field, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881) was a Russian writer of realist fiction and essays that explored the depths of the human psyche. Known for acclaimed novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky's work discusses the human mind in a world full of political and social upheaval in 19th century Russia, becoming the forerunner of existentialism. The Idiot was first published in 1869 and is considered one of Dostoevsky's greatest novels. This edition of the classic is translated by Eva Martin.

The title of this novel is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince (Knyaz) Lev 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.”