Dostoevsky's "The Devils": A Critical Companion

AATSEEL

by William J. Leatherbarrow (Editor)

The Devils is one of Dostoevsky's four major novels--and the most openly political of his works. Known by several names, including The Demons and The Possessed, this novel often anchors courses of Dostoevsky's works. This critical companion contains essays that shed light on both the tricky literary structure of the novel and its social and political components. In addition, editor W.J. Leatherbarrow provides a detailed introduction, extracts from Dostoevsky's correspondence about The Devils, and an annotated bibliography.

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 1999

About the author

W. J. Leatherbarrow is a British literary scholar and professor of Russian at the University of Sheffield, known for his extensive work on Dostoevsky, including The Cambridge Companion to Dostoevskii and co-authoring A Documentary History of Russian Thought.

Reviews

[Yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid work - highly readable, reasonably well-written, with good insights. Not too repetetive. I particularly enjoyed the section on the apocalyptic imagery and the chapter on the narrator. I really, really enjoyed it, and read it in about three sittings. It also greatly enhanced my enjoyment of The Devils, in hindsight at least.

[Debbie Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lead essay here (Leatherbarrow's) is outstanding and makes the book worth seeking out, certainly. The rest is disappointing, at least after that start. It starts dreadfully dull (essay #2), improves slightly (#3), and improves slightly again (#4).

[Ferencné Farkas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am awfully interested in this book, I haven't had any opportunity to read it yet. I only read about it et some of the author's thoughts are known by me. I have booked his work today here, in Hungary but they wrote that I Wouldn't get it before Christmas. Returning to the book, its author seems to be an original thinker who are not many. I would also like to know , what he wrote in 2000 in his article about misreading of Myshkin and Stavrogin. But unfortunately I couldn't find it in the Academia Library. /The Slavonic and East European Review, 78./ How could I get it? Bye, Dora