Brief Lives: Fyodor Dostoevsky

A new short biography of the author of Crime and Punishmentand The Brothers Karamazov, by a preeminent Russian scholar In this compelling new biography Anthony Briggs explores the effect of Dostoevsky's turbulent life on his literary genius. Described by one contemporary as "the Shakespeare of the lunatic asylum," Dostoevsky famously divided critics during his lifetime. His childhood and family life have been the subject of scrutiny, most famously in inspiring Freud's essay "Dostoevsky and Parricide." In later life his membership of the Petrashevsky Circle of liberal intellectuals resulted in his prosecution by the authorities: he was forced to attend a mock execution and then exiled for four years to a Siberian prison camp.

Anthony Briggs is a professor of Russian language and literature who has written, translated, or edited 20 books in the field of Russian and English literature. He is also the author of Brief Lives: Leo Tolstoy. Publishers Weekly called his translation of War and Peace "the most readable translation on the market."