{"product_id":"9780486820736","title":"The Notebooks for The Idiot","description":"\"This is an invaluable aid to the understanding not only of the finished work of art, but also of Dostoyevsky's strangely tortured yet confident creative process.\" — \u003ci\u003eModern Fiction Studies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Superbly edited by Edward Wasiolek and well translated (despite difficult problems of rendering) by Katharine Strelsky.\" ― \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eThe central idea of \u003ci\u003eThe Idiot, \u003c\/i\u003eaccording to its author, was \"to depict a completely beautiful human being.\" More prosaically, the novel was intended to shore up Dostoyevsky's professional and financial state. The portrait of Prince Myshkin, a holy fool, was created in desperation amidst the squalid poverty engendered by the Russian writer's compulsive gambling. Dostoyevsky's entire future depended on the success of his next novel, which began as one story and ended as quite another. \u003cbr\u003eAfter publishing the first part of \u003ci\u003eThe Idiot\u003c\/i\u003e in \u003ci\u003eThe Russian Messenger,\u003c\/i\u003e Dostoyevsky had no idea how to continue the story. The second part, in fact, is a quite different novel. The author's notebooks reveal at least eight plans for the tale, with numerous variations on each plan. A unique document of the creative process, this volume is illustrated by facsimiles of original pages from the notebooks, offering a rich source of information about the development of Dostoyevsky's enigmatic novel.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47112140292336,"sku":"9780486820736","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780486820736_p0.jpg?v=1763709414","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780486820736","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}