‘White Nights’ is one of Dostoevsky’s earlier short stories but one of his most enduringly popular. It tells the story of four nights in the life of the lonely narrator, who meets and falls in love with the mysterious and beautiful Nastenka. Poor Folk was Dostoevsky’s first novel, written to try and alleviate his financial plight, and was a commercial success. It tells the story of Makar Devushkin, a clerk, and Varvara Dobroselova, a seamstress, by means of the letters they exchange; they are in love, but too poor to marry. Its exploration of humanitarian themes led to it being described as Russia’s first ‘social novel’ By contrast, Dostoevsky’s second novel, The Double was not well received. First published in 1846, it was revised and republished by Dostoevsky in 1866, but he did not consider it a success. By contrast, Vladimir Nabokov called it ‘the best thing he ever wrote’ and described it as ’a perfect work of art’.
Author
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and journalist. His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as multiple of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. His 1864 novella Notes from Underground is considered to be one of the first works of existentialist literature. As such, he is also looked upon as a philosopher and theologian as well. (Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)
