The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Summary

Three brothers and their relations in 19th century Russia provide the base for a sweeping epic overview of human striving, folly and hope.

 
First published in 1880, The Brothers Karamazov is a landmark work in every respect.  Revolving around shiftless father Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov are the fates of his three sons, each of whom has fortunes entwined with the others.  The eldest son, Dimitri, seeks an inheritance from his father and becomes his rival in love.  Ivan, the second son, is so at odds with the world that he is driven near to madness, while the youngest, Alexi, is a man of faith and a natural optimist.  These personalities are drawn out and tested in a crucible of conflict and emotion as the author forces upon them fundamental questions of morality, faith, reason and responsibility.  This charged situation is pushed to its limit by the addition of the unthinkable, murder and possible patricide.  Using shifting viewpoints and delving into the minds of his characters, Dostoevsky adopted fresh techniques to tell his wide-reaching story with power and startling effectiveness.  The Brothers Karamazov remains one of the most respected and celebrated novels in all literature and continues to reward readers beyond expectation.

 
With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Brothers Karamazov is both modern and readable.

Available since: 10/06/2020.

Other books that might interest you

The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde

Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.From the play's effervescent beginnings in Algernon Moncrieff's London flat to its hilarious denouement in the drawing room of Jack Worthing's country manor in Hertfordshire, this comic masterpiece keeps audiences breathlessly anticipating a new bon mot or a fresh twist of plot moment to moment.

Show book

The Roly Poly Pudding

Beatrix Potter

Listen to the story of how mischievous Tom Kitten got himself into trouble with two very large rats that wanted to turn him into a dumpling. They smeared him with butter, and then they rolled him in the dough. Read in English, unabridged.

Show book

Sohrab & Rustum

Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was born on the 24th December 1822 in Laleham, Surrey. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby school.

In 1836, Arnold was sent to Winchester College, but the following year he was enrolled in the fifth form at Rugby. In the sixth form he came under the tutelage of his father. Whilst there Arnold won many school prizes for English essay writing, together with Latin and English poetry.

His first volume, ‘The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems’ was published in 1849.

Wishing to marry, but unable to on the meagre wages of a private secretary, Arnold sought, and was appointed, in April 1851, as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. It was a necessary sacrifice and overall he found the work miserable. However, the income and security enabled him to marry Frances Lucy in June, 1851. They would have six children.

In 1852, Arnold published ‘Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems’ followed in 1853 by ‘Poems: A New Edition’ that included his epic ‘Sohrab and Rustum’. In 1854, ‘Poems: Second Series’ was published.

Arnold was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857, and was the first incumbent to deliver his lectures in English rather than in Latin. He was re-elected in 1862.

Matthew Arnold died on 15th April, 1888 of heart failure whilst running to catch a train that would have taken him to see his daughter, who was visiting from the United States. He was 65.

Arnold is often referred to as the third great Victorian poet, along with Tennyson and Browning. He was also keenly aware of his stature. In a letter in 1869 to his mother, he wrote:

‘’My poems represent, on the whole, the main movement of mind of the last quarter of a century, and thus they will probably have their day as people become conscious to themselves of what that movement of mind is”.

Show book

Adventure of the Priory School...

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"The Adventure of the Priory School", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Priory School" tenth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories. Holmes receives a visit from Dr. Thorneycroft Huxtable, the founder and principal of a preparatory school called Priory School in Northern England. He beseeches Holmes to come back to Mackleton with him to look into the disappearance of one of his pupils, the ten-year-old Lord Saltire, whose father is the very rich and famous Duke of Holdernesse. Huxtable explains that not only the boy has disappeared, but also the German master, Heidegger, along with his bicycle.

Show book

The Birds - A Play

Aristophanes

Birds rule the sky—and man—in this entertaining work by the Ancient Greek playwright known for Lysistrata and The Clouds.   This award-winning comedy—first performed in Greece in 414 BC—remains a delightful read even after two millennia. As the birds of Athens express their frustration about sharing a realm with humans, they hatch a plan to build their own empire in the sky: Cloud-cuckoo-land. Soon they are exercising their power as they form a barrier between mortals and the Olympians—and declare themselves the new gods.

Show book

The Open Window

Saki Saki

Framton Nuttel pays an unannounced call on Mrs. Sappleton and finds himself in the midst of a macabre spectacle which is not as it seems. Hector Hugh Munro’s genius storytelling at its best.

Show book