Fyodor Dostoevsky - White Nights and Other Stories: "The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness"

He was introduced to literature very early. At age three, it was heroic sagas, fairy tales and legends. At four his mother used the Bible to teach him to read and write. His immersion in literature was wide and varied. His imagination, he later recalled, was brought to life by his parents' nightly readings.

On 27th September 1837 tragedy struck. Dostoyevsky's mother died of tuberculosis.

Dostoyevsky and his brother were now enrolled at the Nik...