Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer whose psychological penetration into the darkest recesses of the human heart had a profound and universal influence on the twentieth-century novel. He was born in Moscow, the son of a surgeon. Leaving the study of engineering for literature, he published
Poor Folk in 1846. As a member of revolutionary circles in St. Petersburg, he was condemned to death in 1849. A last-minute reprieve sent him to Siberia for hard labor. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1859, he worked as a journalist and completed his masterpiece,
Crime and Punishment, as well as other works, including
The Idiot and
The Brothers Karamazov.Constance Garnett (1862–1946) translated the works of numerous Russian authors, including Tolstoy, Gogol, Pushkin, and Turgenev.
Edoardo Ballerini, an actor, director, film producer, and narrator, has won several Audie Awards for best narration, including for 2019’s Best Male Narrator of the Year. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019.
