Notes from Underground is widely considered the forerunner of modernist literature and one of Dostoevskys greatest literary achievements. The novel recounts the thoughts and encounters of a civil servant known only as The Underground Man who has quit his job and lives in a basement flat on the outskirts of St. Petersburg surviving on a small inheritance. His humiliation turns to an inward-turning aggression that further reinforces his alienation from mainstream society.Includes a contribution by Patrick Maxwell the letter that Dostoevsky wrote to his brother on the day he was to be executed a biographical timeline and suggested reading.