The two years leading up to Dostoyevsky’s writing of Crime and Punishment (1866) were fraught with misfortune. He lost both his wife and brother, and the magazine Epoch, which he had co-founded with his brother, went bankrupt under the weight of debt, leaving Dostoyevsky on the brink of debtor’s prison.

Desperate, he secured an advance for an unwritten novel and fled to Wiesbaden, hoping to win enough money at the roulette table to pay off his debts. However, he lost everything, was forced to pawn his clothes, and had to beg friends for loans to cover his hotel bill and return to Russia. One such plea was sent to a magazine editor, requesting an advance for another unwritten novel, which he described as Crime and Punishment.

Widely regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of world literature, Crime and Punishment propelled Dostoyevsky to the forefront of Russian literature and secured his place among the world’s greatest novelists.

Drawing from his own experiences in prison, Dostoyevsky tells the intense and gripping story of Raskolnikov, a destitute student tortured by his own nihilistic beliefs and the battle between good and evil. Convinced that he is above the law and that noble ends justify vile means, Raskolnikov coldly murders an old woman—a pawnbroker he deems “stupid, sickly, greedy…worthless.”

Overwhelmed by guilt and fear, Raskolnikov eventually confesses and is sent to prison, where he comes to realize that true happiness and redemption can only be found through suffering. Rich with religious, social, and philosophical themes, the novel was an immediate success. This extraordinary and unforgettable work is presented here in the authoritative translation by Constance Garnett.