{"product_id":"the-house-of-the-dead-the-gambler-9781840226294","title":"The House of the Dead \/ The Gambler","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Constance Garnett with an introduction by Anthony Briggs.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDostoevsky's fascination for mental breakdown and violence (20 murders in his four main novels) was based on his own life, and these two unmistakably autobiographical works bear this out.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe House of the Dead\u003c\/em\u003e is fiction, but based on his four years in a Siberian prison. An educated upper-class man is condemned to live among criminals and brutal guards, with arbitrary punishments, lousy food, disgusting living conditions, hard toil and many floggings. Somehow he avoids bitterness and recrimination; faith in humanity survives. With its breadth of characterisation, acute sense of detail and strong narrative interest, this work can still shock, entertain and inspire.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Gambler\u003c\/em\u003e we see the Russian community in a German spa town. Drawn to the casino, Alexey becomes obsessed with roulette. In a gripping story, full of psychological interest, his growing mania eclipses even his interest in Polina, a heroine of demonic and vibrant sexuality. Dostoevsky himself was rescued from a similar gambling obsession by the young stenographer who took down this work at his dictation and married him soon afterwards.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50725549539602,"sku":"9781840226294","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f617141f-2eba-40e2-b7c2-d241000c37f4.jpg?v=1758651106","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-house-of-the-dead-the-gambler-9781840226294","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}