[
Zapiski iz mertvogo doma], Dostoevsky’s novelized memoir of Siberian hard labour, caused a sensation on its first publication for its depiction of a part of Russian society that had previously been entirely unexplored, and sparked a national debate about the manifest problems of the Imperial Russian justice system. It kick-started the author’s own mature literary career by providing him with a wealth of material on crime and criminals – and a strong interest in the psychology of criminals – that fed into his subsequent novels, including the “parricide” who turns out to be innocent, and who became the inspiration for the plot of
The Brothers Karamazov[
Brat’ia Karamazovy]. It also became the foundational text for the tradition of Russian…
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Citation: Young, Sarah J.. "Zapiski iz mertvogo doma". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 January 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11265, accessed 21 November 2024.]