Poor Folk and Other Stories

With their penetrating psychological insight and their emphasis on human dignity respect and forgiveness Dostoyevsky's early short stories contain the seeds of the themes that came to his major novels. Poor Folk the author's first great literary triumph is the story of a tragic relationship between an impoverished copy clerk and a young seamstress told through their passionate letters to each other. In The Landlady Dostoyevsky portrays a dreamer hero who is captivated by a curious couple and becomes their lodger. Mr Prokharchin inspired by a true story is a sly comedy centring on an eccentric miser and Polzunkov is a powerful character sketch which in common with the other tales in this volume questions the very nature of existence.