From Publishers Weekly
Dostoyevsky's letters constitute the most intimate portrait of him we have. Through their raw, direct, emotional voice we see him in prison fighting off the despair of solitary confinement; in Siberia, mingling with peasant, fellow prisoners; and wrestling with his artistic and spiritual demons. There are letters to his long-suffering wife, written from gambling spas where he acted out his obsession like a character from one of his novels. After years of ducking his creditors by living in Europe, where his frustrations spilled over into tirades against the West, the novelist returned to St. Petersburg and met with success. As editor and sole contributor to a monthly journal of opinion, he became a public figure, and the letters reveal how the themes of The Brothers Karamazov first crystallized in his monthly. This collection, drawn from the four-volume, definitive Russian edition, offers the fullest selection of Dostoyevsky's correspondence available in English. Frank is author of a widely acclaimed, multivolume biography of Dostoyevsky, and the late Goldstein wrote Dostoyevsky and the Jews. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is the largest selection to date of Dostoyevsky's letters in English and a valuable resource for scholars and admirers of his fiction who don't read Russian. Unlike the leisured reflections of more sheltered authors, these letters were written in life-blood. They run the gamut: early success; prison and exile for "political" activity; epilepsy, gambling fever, and persistent debt; religious fervor and prejudice; unhappy liaisons and the loving sensuality of Dostoyevsky's second marriage; the popular acclaim of his late years. Frank's succinct introduction sets Dostoyevsky's life (1821-1881) in the context of the times, and the footnotes point to many important connections between his letters and his art. Mary F. Zirin, Altadena, Cal.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes
Text: English, Russian (translation)

ANNOTATION

"One of the great letter collections by a writer of towering genius. . . .Transcendentally vivid." Kirkus Reviews

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Dostoyevsky's letters constitute the most intimate portrait of him we have. Through their raw, direct, emotional voice we see him in prison fighting off the despair of solitary confinement; in Siberia, mingling with peasant, fellow prisoners; and wrestling with his artistic and spiritual demons. There are letters to his long-suffering wife, written from gambling spas where he acted out his obsession like a character from one of his novels. After years of ducking his creditors by living in Europe, where his frustrations spilled over into tirades against the West, the novelist returned to St. Petersburg and met with success. As editor and sole contributor to a monthly journal of opinion, he became a public figure, and the letters reveal how the themes of The Brothers Karamazov first crystallized in his monthly. This collection, drawn from the four-volume, definitive Russian edition, offers the fullest selection of Dostoyevsky's correspondence available in English. Frank is author of a widely acclaimed, multivolume biography of Dostoyevsky, and the late Goldstein wrote Dostoyevsky and the Jews. (May 28)

Library Journal