Constance Garnett
5) On the Eve
A desperate young man plans the perfect crime—the murder of a despicable pawnbroker, an old women no one loves and no one will mourn. Is it not just, he reasons, for a man of genius to commit such a crime, to transgress moral law—if it will ultimately benefit humanity? So begins one of the greatest novels ever written: a powerful...
Dmitri Karamazov and his father Fyodor are at war over both Dmitri’s inheritance and the affections of the beautiful Grushenka. Into this feud arrive the middle brother Ivan, recently returned from Moscow, and the youngest sibling Alyosha, who has been released into the wider world from the local monastery by the elder monk Zossima. Through a series of accidents of fate and wilful misunderstandings the Karamazovs edge closer to tragedy, while
...Notes from the Underground is Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1864 masterpiece following the ranting, slightly unhinged memoir of an isolated, anonymous civil servant. A dramatic monologue in which the narrator leaves himself open to ridicule and reveals more of his weaknesses than he intends, this influential short novel lays the ground work for the political, religious, moral and political ideas that are explored in Dostoevsky's later works.
Although Russian fiction master Fyodor Dostoyevsky is best known for epic, sprawling novels that detail psychological and philosophical problems in minute detail, his more concise work is also remarkable in its scope and depth. This collection of stories will please fans of classic Russian literature and Dostoyevsky buffs who are interested in sampling the author's forays into another format.
Fans of short fiction will love this collection from Anton Chekhov, the Russian author and physician whom many critics regard as one of the masters of the short story. The pieces brought together in this volume span a wide range of themes and highlight the subtle genius that sets Chekhov's work apart from his peers.
Get acquainted with the work of Russian literary master Ivan Turgenev in this rich, multifaceted tale of unrequited romantic love and self-discovery. The Torrents of Spring follows the coming-of-age of a young Russian aristocrat who is willing to give away everything he owns to pursue love. But before he can achieve his happily-ever-after, a sophisticated seductress steps in and induces him to stray from his single-minded goal. Will the
...13) The Kingdom of God Is Within You: Christianity Not as a Mystic Religion but as a New Theory of Life
Initially banned in his home country The Kingdom of God Is Within You is Leo Tolstoy's great non-fictional work. The zenith of Tolstoy's thirty years of Christian thinking, it sets out a plan for a new society guided by a literal Christian interpretation. Christ conceived of a society based on love, compassion and tolerance, and Tolstoy believed this was incompatible with violence. Tolstoy's response is the principle of nonresistance in
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