About “The Idiot”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel was inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, aiming to portray "a truly beautiful soul" in conflict with society's harsh realities. The story follows Prince Myshkin, a gentle and naive man returning to St. Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium. He visits his distant relative, General Yepanchin, and wins the affection of the general and his circle. Myshkin becomes infatuated with the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna, leading him into a love triangle and a complex web of blackmail and betrayal. The novel ends with murder, reflecting the tensions and moral struggles of its characters. A new translation by David McDuff captures the original Russian's style and flow.
Praise for “The Idiot”
“A book that manages like no other to plunge fearlessly into suffering while at the same time illuminating the enduring, almost unspeakable beauty of the human.”
“One of the most excoriating, compelling, and remarkable books ever written: and without question one of the greatest.”
“A masterpiece . . . a fact of world literature just as important as the densely dramatic Brothers Karamazov or the brilliantly subtle and terrifying Devils. . . . [an] excellent new translation.”
Book details
- Published
- 1869
- Latest edition
- 2022 · ISBN 9781015432932
- ISBN
- 9780241739822
View more editions (10)
| Cover | Edition | Year | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idiot | 2024 | 9798888976012 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2024 | 9798888976470 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2022 | 9798793346832 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Illustrated Edition | 2022 | 9798427300315 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2022 | 9781015432932 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot [Annotated] | 2022 | 9798407001164 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2022 | 9798432481849 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Illustrated Edition | 2022 | 9798413738689 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2022 | 9798432498687 | Buy on Amazon | |
| Idiot | 2022 | 9798840450109 | Buy on Amazon |
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Idiot?
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky has 784 pages.
More by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Book descriptions, author biographies, award records and review quotes on this page are courtesy of Penguin Random House.