Poor Folk

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Traducteur CJ Hogarth

Synopsis

"We are poor people, we are simple people, but we have hearts and souls too."

Before the psychological labyrinths of Crime and Punishment, a young Dostoevsky captured the world's attention with this exquisite epistolary novel. Through a series of increasingly desperate letters, we witness the relationship between Makar Devushkin, a lowly, aging copy clerk, and Varvara Dobroselova, a fragile young seamstress. Living in squalid rooms across a dismal St. Petersburg courtyard, they exchange words of comfort, shared bread, and the flickering hope of a better life. Poor Folk is a searingly intimate portrait of the "little man" struggling to maintain his humanity in a society that views him as nothing more than a smudge on a ledger.

The Birth of Psychological Realism: Dostoevsky takes the traditional "sentimental" epistolary form and infuses it with a brutal, modern realism. He elevates the clerk—a figure usually mocked in Russian literature—to a tragic hero. Makar's obsession with his social standing and his desperate attempts to appear "respectable" even as he starves reveal the deep psychological scars of class inequality.

A Tragedy of Self-Sacrifice: As their financial situation deteriorates, the letters become a battleground between love and survival. Makar's selfless devotion to Varvara leads him to ruin, while Varvara is forced to make a heart-shattering choice between the man who loves her and the safety of a wealthy, predatory suitor. It is a story that proves the greatest tragedies are often the quietest ones, occurring behind closed doors in the poorest corners of the city.

Witness the soul of a genius in its first bloom. Purchase "Poor Folk" today and experience the novel that changed Russian literature forever.

Disponible depuis: 07/01/2026.

Longueur d'impression: 182 pages.

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