Our Notes & References
Very good example of the first edition, in contemporary binding; rare such.
One of Dostoevsky’s great novels, and the first of his books published by Dostoevsky himself.
Besy captures “the full grandeur of Dostoevsky’s extraordinary endeavor, which is nothing less than to write a symbolic history of the moral-spiritual travails of the Russian spirit” (Frank, pp.430-434). It is his most overtly political work, and a ruthless exposition of contemporary revolutionary movements. The serialisation of this work, in Katkov’s periodical The Russian Messenger, broke down when Katkov refused to print ‘Stavrogin’s Confession’, an episode which he found particularly shocking.
“As a political tract, a portrayal of sick minds, and a study of the manipulation of groups, ‘The Possessed’ remains Dostoevsky’s masterpiece” (Terras).
***Customers considering purchasing this item will be given a longer, much more detailed note on the work, its background, its influence***
Bibliography
Kilgour 281.
Item number
245