Demons

Alternate Titles

• Devils, The Possessed

Description

Also known as *Demons* or *The Devils*, this is Dostoyevsky’s most political novel. Though critical of the left-wing revolutionaries, split as they often were into disparate factions and cells the author also tacitly rebukes the conservative elite for failing to come to terms with the high levels of disaffection in the country, a stance that would ultimately lead to their downfall.

First Sentence

BEFORE DESCRIBING THE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS WHICH took place so recently in our town, hitherto not remarkable for anything in particular, I find it necessary, since I am not a skilled writer, to go back a little and begin with certain biographical details concerning our talented and greatly esteemed Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky.

Description

Pyotr Verkhovensky and Nikolai Stavrogin are the leaders of a Russian revolutionary cell. Their aim is to overthrow the Tsar, destroy society and seize power for themselves. Together they train terrorists who are willing to go to any lengths to achieve their goals - even if the mission means suicide. But when it seems their motley group is about to be discovered, will their recruits be willing to kill one of their own circle in order to cover their tracks? As the ensuing investigation and trial reveal the true identity of the murderer, Dostoyevsky's and everyone's faith in humanity is tested. Partly based on the real-life case of a student murdered by his fellow revolutionaries, Dostoyevsky's sprawling novel is a powerful and prophetic, yet lively and often comic depiction of nineteenth-century Russia, and a savage indictment of the madness and nihilism of those who use violence to serve their beliefs. Robert A. Maguire's superb translation captures Dostoyevsky's vigorous prose. In his introduction, Robert L. Belknap discusses Dostoyevsky's own revolutionary activities, his narrative technique and use of different genres, and the background of Radicalism in Imperial Russia. Edited by Ronald Meyer, this volume also includes a chronology, further reading, notes and a glossary. --back cover

Subjects

Other Editions

• Demons: A Novel In Three PartsPaperbackPenguin Books2008-01-01
• Les PossédéseBookBibebook1871-01-01
• Les PossédéseBookHard Press1886-01-01
• The PossessedMass Market PaperbackNew American Library1980-01-01
• DemonseBookVintage Classics1995-08-01
• The PossessedeBookNuVision Publications2003-01-01