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White Nights

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. 
 
Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil. 
 
Regarded as one of world literature's foremost novelists, Fyodor Dostoevsky's short stories are also some of the best ever written. 'White Nights' tells of love and loss on the streets of St. Petersburg, 'A Nasty Business' presents the hilarious tale of a general dropping in on the wedding of a subordinate, while 'The Meek One' is an existentialist tale of marriage and tragedy.

Regarded as one of world literature's foremost novelists, Fyodor Dostoevsky's short stories are also some of the best ever written. 'White Nights' tells of love and loss on the streets of St. Petersburg, 'A Nasty Business' presents the hilarious tale of a general dropping in on the wedding of a subordinate, while 'The Meek One' is an existentialist tale of marriage and tragedy.

A BBC Radio full-cast adaptation

The Russian Gambler

Ed Stoppard stars as obsessive pianist Alexei in this modern-day take on Dostoevsky's classic The Gambler 
 
When brilliant but penniless pianist Alexei is hired to tutor the 10-year-old daughter of Russian oligarch Mikhail, he is drawn into a world of chance, obsession and violence. Hopelessly infatuated with Mikhail's beautiful stepdaughter Polina, he vows to do anything to win her love: and so begins his involvement in a dangerous, high-stakes game... 
 
Seduced by the lure of the roulette wheel, and embroiled in the complications and machinations of Polina and her family, Alexei's life takes a dark turn. The unexpected arrival of Mikhail's mother Anastasia from Russia offers hope of rescue from financial ruin: but an obsession with risk-taking threatens to destroy everything... 
 
This lively reimagining, set in contemporary London, was written by Dolya Gavanski, who also plays Polina. Ed Stoppard (Home Fires) stars as Alexei, with Eleanor Bron (A Little Princess) as Anastasia and Matthew Marsh (Love, Lies and Records) as Mikhail. 
 
Production credits 
Adapted by Dolya Gavanski, from Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Gambler 
Directed and produced by John Dryden 
Original music composed by Sacha Puttnam 
All music performed by Sacha Puttnam 
Casting: Toby Whale 
Script Editor: Mike Walker 
Sound Design: Steve Bond 
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Alexei - Ed Stoppard 
Mikhail - Matthew Marsh 
Polina - Dolya Gavanski 
Vika - Isabella Blake Thomas 
Astley - Graham Seed 
Francois - Orlando Seale 
Katie - Lucy May Barker 
Inokenti - George Lasha 
Masha - Irina Karatcheva 
Mullighan - Jay Taylor 
Office Worker - Alana Ramsey 
Blake - Timothy Walker 
Anastasia - Eleanor Bron 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17-24 November 2013 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ed Stoppard stars as obsessive pianist Alexei in this modern-day take on Dostoevsky's classic The Gambler 
 
When brilliant but penniless pianist Alexei is hired to tutor the 10-year-old daughter of Russian oligarch Mikhail, he is drawn into a world of chance, obsession and violence. Hopelessly infatuated with Mikhail's beautiful stepdaughter Polina, he vows to do anything to win her love: and so begins his involvement in a dangerous, high-stakes game... 
 
Seduced by the lure of the roulette wheel, and embroiled in the complications and machinations of Polina and her family, Alexei's life takes a dark turn. The unexpected arrival of Mikhail's mother Anastasia from Russia offers hope of rescue from financial ruin: but an obsession with risk-taking threatens to destroy everything... 
 
This lively reimagining, set in contemporary London, was written by Dolya Gavanski, who also plays Polina. Ed Stoppard (Home Fires) stars as Alexei, with Eleanor Bron (A Little Princess) as Anastasia and Matthew Marsh (Love, Lies and Records) as Mikhail. 
 
Production credits 
Adapted by Dolya Gavanski, from Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Gambler 
Directed and produced by John Dryden 
Original music composed by Sacha Puttnam 
All music performed by Sacha Puttnam 
Casting: Toby Whale 
Script Editor: Mike Walker 
Sound Design: Steve Bond 
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Alexei - Ed Stoppard 
Mikhail - Matthew Marsh 
Polina - Dolya Gavanski 
Vika - Isabella Blake Thomas 
Astley - Graham Seed 
Francois - Orlando Seale 
Katie - Lucy May Barker 
Inokenti - George Lasha 
Masha - Irina Karatcheva 
Mullighan - Jay Taylor 
Office Worker - Alana Ramsey 
Blake - Timothy Walker 
Anastasia - Eleanor Bron 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17-24 November 2013 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Devils & The Brothers Karamazov

The Fyodor Dostoevsky BBC Radio Drama Collection

BBC radio productions of Dostoevsky's masterpieces, plus selected shorter fiction and bonus programmes exploring his life and work 
 
One of the most important and influential Russian writers of the 19th Century, Fyodor Dostoevsky is admired worldwide for his great realist novels, exploring questions of morality, philosophy and the nature of existence. This compilation contains the BBC radio productions of his four most famous novels - as well as three lesser-known works and two bonus documentaries - collected together for the first time. 
 
Crime and Punishment - When he tests out a horrific theory, young Raskolnikov finds himself pursued by the cunning investigator Porfiry Petrovich. This thrilling tale of guilt and redemption stars Barnaby Kay and Jim Norton. 
 
The Idiot - Arriving back in Russia after years spent abroad treating his epilepsy, Prince Mishkin learns the story of the woman who will dominate his life - the spoilt but captivating Nastasya... Dostoevsky's most personal novel stars Paul Rhys, Roger Allam and Lia Williams. 
 
Devils - Idealism curdles into murderous anarchy in this fresh, contemporary 3-part adaptation of Dostoevsky's terrifying masterpiece, starring Gary Lilburn, Jane Whittenshaw, Joseph Arkley and Jonathan Forbes. 
 
The Brothers Karamazov- The Karamazov family reunite for a meeting with their father to discuss Dmitry's inheritance. But the unpredictable Fyodor seems unwilling to play the game.... Stars Roy Marsden, Paul Hilton and Nicholas Boulton. 
 
The Friend of the Family - Russia, 1859, and the Manor of Stephanchikovo is thrown into chaos when a former sergeant sets himself up as an arbiter of morals and taste. David Suchet and Clive Merrison star in this farcical comedy. 
 
Bobok - Loitering in the cemetery after a funeral, a drunken writer overhears the conversations of the recently deceased corpses... This blackly comic short story is performed by Boris Isarov. 
 
Dream of a Ridiculous Man - A study in music and words of Dostoevsky's vision of an idyllic, prelapsarian world. Read by Ronald Pickup. 
 
Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas - John Gray reflects on the lessons Dostoevsky's novels teach us about the perils of misguided idealism. 
 
Dr Rowan Williams on Dostoevsky - The onetime Archbishop of Canterbury joins Susan Hitch to consider conflicting ideas about spiritual regeneration and existentialism, as embodied in Dostoevsky's characters. 
 
First published 1859 (The Friend of the Family), 1866 (Crime and Punishment), 1869 (The Idiot), 1872 (Demons), 1873 ('Bobok'), 1877 ('The Dream of a Ridiculous Man'), 1880 (The Brothers Karamazov)

BBC radio productions of Dostoevsky's masterpieces, plus selected shorter fiction and bonus programmes exploring his life and work 
 
One of the most important and influential Russian writers of the 19th Century, Fyodor Dostoevsky is admired worldwide for his great realist novels, exploring questions of morality, philosophy and the nature of existence. This compilation contains the BBC radio productions of his four most famous novels - as well as three lesser-known works and two bonus documentaries - collected together for the first time. 
 
Crime and Punishment - When he tests out a horrific theory, young Raskolnikov finds himself pursued by the cunning investigator Porfiry Petrovich. This thrilling tale of guilt and redemption stars Barnaby Kay and Jim Norton. 
 
The Idiot - Arriving back in Russia after years spent abroad treating his epilepsy, Prince Mishkin learns the story of the woman who will dominate his life - the spoilt but captivating Nastasya... Dostoevsky's most personal novel stars Paul Rhys, Roger Allam and Lia Williams. 
 
Devils - Idealism curdles into murderous anarchy in this fresh, contemporary 3-part adaptation of Dostoevsky's terrifying masterpiece, starring Gary Lilburn, Jane Whittenshaw, Joseph Arkley and Jonathan Forbes. 
 
The Brothers Karamazov- The Karamazov family reunite for a meeting with their father to discuss Dmitry's inheritance. But the unpredictable Fyodor seems unwilling to play the game.... Stars Roy Marsden, Paul Hilton and Nicholas Boulton. 
 
The Friend of the Family - Russia, 1859, and the Manor of Stephanchikovo is thrown into chaos when a former sergeant sets himself up as an arbiter of morals and taste. David Suchet and Clive Merrison star in this farcical comedy. 
 
Bobok- Loitering in the cemetery after a funeral, a drunken writer overhears the conversations of the recently deceased corpses... This blackly comic short story is performed by Boris Isarov. 
 
Dream of a Ridiculous Man - A study in music and words of Dostoevsky's vision of an idyllic, prelapsarian world. Read by Ronald Pickup. 
 
Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas - John Gray reflects on the lessons Dostoevsky's novels teach us about the perils of misguided idealism. 
 
Dr Rowan Williams on Dostoevsky - The onetime Archbishop of Canterbury joins Susan Hitch to consider conflicting ideas about spiritual regeneration and existentialism, as embodied in Dostoevsky's characters. 
 
First published 1859 (The Friend of the Family), 1866 (Crime and Punishment), 1869 (The Idiot), 1872 (Demons), 1873 ('Bobok'), 1877 ('The Dream of a Ridiculous Man'), 1880 (The Brothers Karamazov)

Crime and Punishment

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Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. 
 
Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Porfiry, a suspicious detective, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption. As the ensuing investigation and trial reveal the true identity of the murderer, Dostoyevsky's dark masterpiece evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur and everyone's faith in humanity is tested.

'My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?' 
 
A poignant tale of love and loneliness from Russia's foremost writer. 
 
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

The Meek One

'I could see that she was still terribly afraid, but I didn't soften anything; instead, seeing that she was afraid I deliberately intensified it.' 
 
In this short story, Dostoyevsky masterfully depicts desperation, greed, manipulation and suicide. 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. 
 
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881). Dostoyevsky's works available in Penguin Classics are Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Double, The Gambler and Other Stories, The Grand Inquisitor, Notes From The Underground, Netochka Nezvanova, The House of The Dead, The Brothers Karamazov and The Village of Stepanchikovo.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. His debut, the epistolary novella Poor Folk(1846), made his name. In 1849 he was arrested for involvement with the politically subversive 'Petrashevsky circle' and until 1854 he lived in a convict prison in Omsk, Siberia. From this experience came The House of the Dead (1860-2). In 1860 he began the journal Vremya (Time). Already married, he fell in love with one of his contributors, Appollinaria Suslova, eighteen years his junior, and developed a ruinous passion for roulette. After the death of his first wife, Maria, in 1864, Dostoyevsky completed Notes from Underground and began work towards Crime and Punishment (1866). The major novels of his late period are The Idiot (1868), Demons(1871-2) and The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80). He died in 1881.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

David McDuff

'The mystery of human existence lies not in staying alive, but in finding something to live for' 
 
The murder of brutal landowner Fyodor Karamazov changes the lives of his sons irrevocably: Mitya, the sensualist, whose bitter rivalry with his father immediately places him under suspicion for parricide; Ivan, the intellectual, driven to breakdown; the spiritual Alyosha, who tries to heal the family's rifts; and the shadowy figure of their bastard half-brother, Smerdyakov. Dostoyevsky's dark masterwork evokes a world where the lines between innocence and corruption, good and evil, blur, and everyone's faith in humanity is tested.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Brothers Karamazov

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