The Gambler

Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story "The Gambler" is about a young teacher working for a once-rich Russian general. The novella, which was in many respects inspired by Dostoevsky's own addiction to roulette, illustrates this behavior: Dostoevsky finished the book in 1866 under pressure to finish it before he had to pay off gambling debts. The Gambler dealt with gambling, a topic that Fyodor Dostoevsky was familiar with. In 1863, Fyodor Dostoevsky played a hand of cards at a Wiesbaden casino. He...