Crime and Punishment

Original title: Преступление и наказание

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), trans. Constance Garnett

Translation en 202618 words First published 1866 Russia

Dostoevsky's psychological masterpiece of 1866. Raskolnikov, a brilliant, half-starved ex-student in St Petersburg, convinces himself that extraordinary men have the right to transgress — and tests the theory by murdering an old pawnbroker with an axe. The murder takes only a chapter; the punishment, mostly self-inflicted, takes the rest of the book: fever, confession, cat-and-mouse with the Porfiry the investigator, and the unexpected grace offered by Sonia, a prostitute who reads him the raising of Lazarus. This edition uses Constance Garnett's classic translation.

Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.

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