Synopsis
The most autobiographical novel by the author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov—and the namesake of Elif Batuman’s debut novel, The Idiot
Returning to St Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium, the gentle and naïve epileptic Prince Myshkin— known as the “idiot”—pays a visit to his distant relative General Yepanchin and proceeds to charm the General and his family. But his life is thrown into turmoil when he chances on a photograph of the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna. Utterly infatuated, he soon finds himself caught up in a love triangle and drawn into a web of blackmail, betrayal, and finally, murder. In Prince Myshkin, Dostoyevsky portrays the purity of “a truly beautiful soul” and explores the perils that innocence and goodness face in a corrupt world.
David McDuff's translation brilliantly captures the novel's idiosyncratic and dream-like language and the nervous, elliptic flow of the narrative. This edition also contains an introduction by William Mills Todd III, which is a fascinating examination of the pressures on Dostoyevsky as he wrote the story of his Christ-like hero.
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About the Author
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer whose novels Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov rank among the greatest of the nineteenth century.
David McDuff (translator) has translated many works of nineteenth-century Russian literature, including works by Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Leskov for Penguin Classics.
William Mills Todd III (introducer) is a professor of Slavic languages at Harvard.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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The Idiot (Penguin Classics)
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The Idiot (Penguin Classics) This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780140447927
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The Idiot (Paperback or Softback)
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Penguin Books 8/31/2004, 2004
ISBN 10: 014044792X
ISBN 13: 9780140447927
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The Idiot: Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Penguin Classics)
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paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780140447927
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The Idiot (Paperback)
Published by
Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2004
ISBN 10: 014044792X
ISBN 13: 9780140447927
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A new translation of Dostoyevsky's great novel of suffering and sicknessInspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Dostoyevsky set out to create a protagonist with \"a truly beautiful soul\" and to trace the fate of such an individual as he comes into contact with the brutal reality of contemporary society. The novel begins when the innocent epileptic Prince Myshkin - the 'idiot' - arrives in St Petersburg and finds himself drawn into a web of violent and passionate relationships that leads to blackmail, betrayal and eventually murder. Returning to St Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium, the gentle and naive epileptic Prince Myshkin - pays a visit to his distant relative General Yepanchin and proceeds to charm the General, his wife, and his three daughters. But his life is thrown into turmoil when he chances on a photograph of the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780140447927
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The Idiot (Penguin Classics)
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