White Nights & Other Stories: An essential, best-loved classic

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Constance Garnett, Fyodor Dostoevsky

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.

I am a dreamer; I have so little real life that I look upon such moments as this now, as so rare, that I cannot help going over such moments again in my dreams.

‘White Nights’ is the bittersweet story of a lonely young man’s love found and lost over four magical midsummer evenings in St. Petersburg. This collection brings together seven of Dostoyevsky’s beloved short stories, including 'Bobok', an eavesdrop on the conversations of the dead, 'An Unpleasant Predicament', which follows a brazen wedding-crasher, and 'The Crocodile', in which a man is gobbled up at the Arcade.

This selection of tales bring to life the cunning wives, buffoonish officials, greedy men and political prisoners of imperial Russia, showcasing Dostoyevsky’s dry wit – both absurd and satirical – while revealing his deep compassion. Considered one of the most influential writers of all time, his empathy and idealism resonates today as a powerful antidote to the disillusionment of modern life.

A selection of Dostoyevsky's short stories, translated by Constance Garnett.

White Nights

The Crocodile

A Novel in Nine Letters

An Unpleasant Predicament

The Peasant Marey

Bobok

A Christmas Tree and a Wedding

A Gentle Spirit

352 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2026

About the author

Alternate spelling, see main profile Fyodor Dostoevsky

Reviews

[Gemma]

What a heartbreaking ending 😭 and the sad reality of this story, is how OFTEN women do this to a kind man who opens up his heart completely to her, just to be shut down and forgotten about the moment someone else “better than” he comes into the picture. How cruel for her to ask him to continue to love her, as she goes on to marry & love someone else.

“May your sky be clear, may your sweet smile be bright and untroubled, and may you be blessed for that moment of blissful happiness which you gave to another, lonely and grateful heart!
My God, a whole moment of happiness! Is that too little for the whole of a man's life?” (p.65)

Definitely not the last Dostoevsky classic! 🥹

5/5 ⭐️

[Ali]

White Nights and most of the other short stories were five-star reads for me. They were so relatable and incredibly well written, and I loved how each story focused on such different kinds of people and experiences. My only complaint was the length of some of them. Why were some of the best stories so short, while a few that weren't bad but weren't quite excellent either felt much longer than they needed to be? I wanted more from the stories that really pulled me in.

That said, I really enjoyed how different every story felt. And then we have the last story... What was that?! We could have ended this on a happier note. Although knowing Fyodor that is probably a ridiculous thing to ask because now that I think about it almost nobody was truly happy at the end of any of these stories. Still the last one was way too depressing.

Also this book is already released i bought it in the bookstore but here it still shows publication date as sept 2026 very weird