Books

. The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky. [Translated from the Russian by Contance Garnett]. London: William Heinemann, 1917. Full Description: DOSTOEVSKY, Fyodor. GARNETT, Constance, [translator]. The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky. [Translated from the Russian by Contance Garnett]. London: William Heinemann, [1917-1926]. Twelve small octavo volumes (7 x 4 3/4 inches; 176 x 121 mm). The final two volume "An Honest Thief" and "The Friend of the Family" are both first English editions. Beautifully bound in modern three-quarter maroon morocco over maroon cloth boards. Morocco is double-ruled in blind. Spines with a green morocco spine label. Spines stamped, ruled and lettered in gilt. Newer endpapers. Some occasional light spotting or toning, generally to preliminaries. Text block of a few novels a bit more toned than others. Still an about fine set. HBS 69211. $4,000.

Notes from Underground is a novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky that presents the interior monologue of a man living in St. Petersburg, Russia. The protagonist, often referred to as the underground man, retreats into a self-imposed isolation from society and articulates his world views through a series of contradictory and complex thoughts and ideas. The work is split into two parts, with the first titled 'Underground' and the second, 'A Propos of the Wet Snow.' It is often regarded as one of the first existentialist novels.