The shorter works of one of the world's greatest writers, including
the classics The Gambler and Notes From the Underground.
The short works of Dostoevsky exist in the very large shadow of his
astonishing longer novels, but they too are among the best works in the
history of literature. The Gambler chronicles Dostoevsky's own
addiction, which he eventually overcame. Many have argued that Notes
From the Underground contains several keys to understanding the themes
of the longer novels, like Crime and Punishment and The Idiot. Those
stories are joined here by other classics, including White Nights and
The Eternal Husband.
In the introduction to this volume, Ronald Hingley writes: "It is
admittedly impossible to evaluate or understand Dostoevsky's major work
properly without taking into account his less voluminous writings, (and)
it is also true that many of his shorter works are masterpieces in their
own right--as it is hoped the reader may remind himself or discover for
the first time..."