Fyodor Dostoevsky

Richard Peace (University of Bristol)

Ed. by Neil Cornwell, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 2.2.1.00: Slavic and Russian Writing and Culture: Old, Medieval and Tsarist, 700-1917.
Vol. editors: Neil Cornwell (University of Bristol), Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Andrei Rogatchevski (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

Dates

Born 11 Nov 1821
Died 9 Feb 1881
Activity 1844-1881

Places

Born in Russia
Active in Russia

Activities

Primary

Journalist
Novelist
Story-writer
Translator

Resources

Dostoevsky's Works

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Fedor [Fyodor] Dostoevsky was born on October 30th (old style) 1821, the second son of a doctor in a Moscow paupers' hospital. From an early age, Dostoevsky was acquainted with poverty and the psychological effects of illness. The domestic atmosphere was dominated by a strict father. The status of doctors in Russia was not very high - and even lower for a doctor in a paupers' hospital. Nevertheless the family managed to acquire a small estate, and as a young boy Dostoevsky came into contact with peasants (most clearly reflected in the late story

The Peasant Marei

(

Muzhik Marei,

1876). His early literary education had been conditioned by the reading aloud of Gothic novels in the family circle, but his developing literary interests are shown by his reaction to the death of Pushkin in 1837,…

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2252 words

Citation: Peace, Richard. "Fyodor Dostoevsky". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 August 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1292, accessed 24 November 2024.]