Books

St. Petersburg, Russia: Pateleevyi Brothers, 1881. First edition. First edition in book form. Two volumes, rare with the half-titles present. 509; 699 pp. Text in the original Russian. Near-contemporary quarter calf, pebble-grain black cloth sides, spines with gilt lettering in Cyrillic, initials to foot of spines. Very Good, a little rubbing to extremities; joints and inner hinges repaired at some point; old faint dampstains to first and last few pages; contents foxed, a little wavy, and a bit musty. Corner of Vol. I p. 289 torn off with loss to a few characters, laid in. Vol. II with former owner's inscriptions in cursive Cyrillic, reproducing some printed lines of half-titles and title page, contemporary inscription giving Dostoevsky's vital dates, first name, and patronymic, to title page, partially trimmed by binder's knife. A solid, complete set.A true masterpiece of world literature. This was the author's swan song; he died the same year it was published. Published in serial…

The last novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, is a profound philosophical and theological debate that dives into the complexities of ethics, religion, and family through the lives of the Karamazov family.

First editions can be identified by their publication in The Russian Messenger over several months, lack of standardized ISBN, publisher logo and earlier cover art, and may contain the author's original prefaces or notes.