The Gambler (translated by C. J. Hogarth) is a novel about a youngish tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian civil servant. The novella reflects Dostoevsky's own addiction to roulette, which was in more ways than one the inspiration for the book: Dostoevsky completed the novella in 1866 under a strict deadline to pay off gambling...More
A Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest psychological novelists in world literature. His books have been translated into more than 170 languages.
His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). (From Wikipedia & Penguin)
A Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest psychological novelists in world literature. His books have been translated into more than 170 languages.
His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). (From Wikipedia & Penguin)
Book Summary
The Gambler (translated by C. J. Hogarth) is a novel about a youngish tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian civil servant. The novella reflects Dostoevsky's own addiction to roulette, which was in more ways than one the inspiration for the book: Dostoevsky completed the novella in 1866 under a strict deadline to pay off gambling debts. The first-person narrative is told from the point of view of Alexei Ivanovich, a tutor working for a Russian family living in a suite at a German hotel. The patriarch of the family, The General, is indebted to the Frenchman de Grieux and has mortgaged his property in Russia to pay only a small amount of his debt. Upon learning of the illness of his wealthy aunt, "Grandmother", he sends streams of telegrams to Moscow and awaits the news of her demise. His expected inheritance will pay his debts and gain Mademoiselle Blanche de Cominges's hand in marriage. Alexei is hopelessly in love with Polina, the General's niece. She asks him to go to the town's casino and place a bet for her. After hesitations, he succumbs and ends up winning at the roulette table.