Fyodor Dostoevsky-Darkness and Dawn (1848-1849)

This book—the third and final volume on Dostoevsky’s childhood, adolescence, and youth—seeks to disclose, in a detailed and intimate way, Dostoevsky’s last two years before his exile to Siberia. The book attempts to present a complete and congruent picture of the writer’s first twenty-eight years. It first examines diverse responses of the Russian church, state, and citizens to the French socialists, in particular, Charles Fourier, and to the revolutions of 1848 before it moves to lively debates on Dostoevsky’s socialism and new attacks on his writings. It then considers the dynamics of the Petrashevsky and Durov circles; fresh assaults on Dostoevsky’s works; and the increasing desperation of the writer himself, particularly with Andrei Kraevsky. In the final sections, the book sheds light on Dostoevsky’s readings of Belinsky’s letter to Gogol, the arrests of Petrashevsky and company, including Dostoevsky and his brothers, Andrei and Mikhail, as well as his responses to members of the Investigative Commission for the Petrashevsky Affair, his eight months in prison in the Peter-Paul Fortress, his mock execution on the Semyonovsky Parade Ground, and his departure to exile in Siberia. The book will be of interest to scholars, students, and devotees not only of Dostoevsky, but also of Russian and European history, culture, and civilization.