At once a comic masterpiece and a penetrating examination of a mental breakdown, The Double portrays Golyadkin, a petty government official convinced that his "double," a man who looks just like him, works in his office, and bears the same name, but is ot

Most significant of the Russian novelist's early stories (1846) offers a straight-faced treatment of a hallucinatory theme. Golyadkin senior is a powerless target of persecution by Golyadkin junior, his double in almost every respect. Familiar Dostoyevskan themes of helplessness, victimization, scandal-beautifully handled in small masterpiece.

With keen psychological insight far ahead if its time, leading to wide misinterpretation among critics upon its first publication in 1846, Dostoevsky’s second novel is now recognized as one of his most important works and one that inspired literally hundreds of imitations. Unhappy with the negative reception for The Double. Dostoevsky re-wrote his original version of 1846 fifteen years later. Dostoevsky wrote, “This revision, provided with an introduction, will be the equivalent of a new novel. They will finally see what The Double is…In a word, I’m challenging everybody to a battle…Why should I lose a superb idea, a great type in its social importance, which I was the first to discover and of which I was the herald.†?

The stories in this volume demonstrate Dostoyevsky's genius for fusing caricature, irony and the grotesque to create a powerful dark humour. The Gambler is a breathtaking portrayal of an intense and futile obsession. Based on Dostoyevsky's own experience of financial desperation and the compulsive desire to win money, it focuses on the characters that take their places at the gaming tables of 'Roulettenburg': the outspoken, aristocratic 'Grandmamma', the mercenary Mademoiselle Blanche, the cool, mysterious Polina and Alex, the author's self-portrait; a man gripped by exhilaration and hopelessness. Bobok is a blackly comic satire in which a desolate writer becomes drawn into the conversations of the dead, and A Nasty Story is a humorous look at the disparity between a man's exaggerated ideal of himself and the sad reality.

First published in 1846, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella "The Double" is a classic doppelgänger and the second major work published by the author. It is the story of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a government clerk who believes that a fellow clerk has taken over his identity and is determined to bring about his ruin. Considered the most Gogolesque of Dostoyevsky's works, the novella brilliantly depicts Golyadkin's descent into madness in a way that is hauntingly poetic. "The Double" illustrates Dostoyevsky's uncanny ability at capturing the complexity of human emotion especially the darker side of the human psyche.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821 - 188) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher. Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the context of the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century Russia. He began writing in his 20s, and his first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25. His major works include Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). His output consists of eleven novels, three novellas, seventeen short novels and numerous other works. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest and most prominent psychologists in world literature. In this book: The Brothers Karamazov Crime and Punishment Translator: Constance Garnett

What really happens when you meet your doppelganger? Well, if you are "dangerously antisocial" and your double is charming, well-liked and has the social skills that you lack, then they take over your life by pretending to be you! Dostoevsky’s novella 'The Double' follows the life of Golyadkin, a low-level official who is a dangerous sociopath. After a misadventure at a birthday party, Golyadkin has a chance meeting with Golyadkin Junior – his double who looks just like him. The theme of the doppelgänger runs potent in the story, together with universal ones like depression, sorrow, alienation, and social injustice. The only solution for the protagonist is the asylum, where his mind can finally be at piece. A sardonic, Gogolian tale of absurdity and social criticism that is proven to be a great read. Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a famous Russian writer of novels, short stories, and essays. A connoisseur of the troubled human psyche and the relationships between the individuals, Dostoevsky’s oeuvre covers a large area of subjects: politics, religion, social issues, philosophy, and the uncharted realms of the psychological. There have been at least 30 film and TV adaptations of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel “Crime and Punishment” with probably the most popular being the British BBC TV series starring John Simm as Raskolnikov and Ian McDiarmid as Porfiry Petrovich. “The Idiot” has also been adapted for films and TV, as has “Demons” and “The Brothers Karamazov".