Readings Classics: Crime and Punishment

Description

A towering classic of Russian literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a compelling story of a brutal double murder and its aftermath.

One of the world’s greatest novels, Crime and Punishment is the story of a murder and its consequences — an unparalleled tale of suspense set in the midst of nineteenth-century Russia’s troubled transition to the modern age.

‘One death, in exchange for thousands of lives – it’s simple arithmetic!’

Rodion Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Porfiry, a suspicious detective, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption. As the ensuing investigation and trial reveal the true identity of the murderer, Dostoyevsky’s dark masterpiece evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur and everyone’s faith in humanity is tested.

Author Biography

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November 1821. He had six siblings and his mother died in 1837 and his father in 1839. He graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Military Engineering in 1846 but decided to change careers and become a writer. His first book, Poor Folk, did very well but on 23rd April 1849 he was arrested for subversion and sentenced to death. After a mock-execution his sentence was commuted to hard labour in Siberia where he developed epilepsy. He was released in 1854.

He is known for his profound understanding of human psychology and his ability to bring forth the darkest realms of human nature. Dostoyevsky inspired a number of modern movements including Existentialism, literary criticism and many schools of psychology and theology. He influenced a number of modern philosophers and writers including Anton Chekov, George Orwell and Jean-Paul Sartre. He is best known for his novels tes from Underground (1864), Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (serialized from 1868 to 1869) The Possessed or otherwise known as Demons (serialised from 1871 to 1872) and The Brothers Karamazov (serialised from 1879 to 1880).

His 1860 book, The House of the Dead was based on these experiences. In 1857, he married Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva. After his release he adopted more conservative and traditional values and rejected his previous socialist position. In the following years he spent a lot of time abroad, struggled with an addiction to gambling and fell deeply in debt. His wife died in 1864 and he married Anna Grigoryeva Snitkina. In the following years he published his most enduring and successful books, including Crime and Punishment (1865). He died on 9th February 1881.