biography
| name: |
Dostoevsky or Dostoyevsky, Fyodor (Mikhailovich)
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pronunciation:
[dostoyefskee]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1821–81)
|
| biography:
| Novelist, born in Moscow, Russia. He became a military engineer, but turned to literature, publishing Bednye lyudi (Poor Folk) in 1846. Joining revolutionary circles in St Petersburg, he was condemned to death (1849), reprieved at the last moment, and sent to hard labour in Siberia. Out of this experience came his harrowing novel, The House of the Dead (1862). In 1859 he returned to St Petersburg, where he wrote his masterpiece, Prestupleniye i nakazaniye (1866, Crime and Punishment), one of the most powerful realistic works of fiction. Other important books are Idiot (1868–9, The Idiot) and Bratya Karamazovy (1879–80, The Brothers Karamazov). His work is characterized by scenes of confrontation in which the most profound religious, metaphysical, and moral problems are explored. Domestic trials, financial troubles (caused by gambling debts), and ill health (epilepsy) clouded his later life. He lived for a time in W Europe (1867–71), then returned to work as a journalist in St Petersburg. |
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