The Idiot is perhaps Fyodor Dostoyevsky's most light-hearted and comedic work and has long been praised for its experimental style and original themes.

The title springs from the fact that the main character in the novel, the fair-haired and sheltered Prince Myshkin, is a naive and sweet-natured young man whose guilelessness and easy-going nature lead those around him to assume that he is dim-witted and slow. After arriving in St. Petersburg from a four-year stay at a Swiss hospital- where he was treated for epilepsy- the Prince becomes ensnared in the various goings-on among the high-class society members and military brass of the city. Romantic entanglements ensue and the Prince finds himself at the center of a number of personal disputes, financial calamities and jealous rivals.

A mid-career novel of Dostoyevsky's, The Idiot helped establish him as one of Russia's leading literary figures and we are proud to present the manuscript in its original and unabridged format, as translated by Eva Martin.