After a brief military career, the illustrious Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky quickly turned to writing as a profession with the publication of his first novel, «Poor Folk,» in 1846. This novel sparked a literary career that would eventually cement Dostoyevsky's reputation as one of the greatest novelists of the nineteenth century. Early participation in a literary/political group landed the writer in exile in Siberia for nearly a decade, an experience which had a profound influence on Dostoyevsky's understanding of fate, the suffering of human beings, and resulted in a powerful religious conversion experience. Dostoyevsky's works are marked by his penetrating exploration of psychology and morality, which are today cited as highly 'existentialist.' An Honest Thief illustrates some of the author's most common themes: compassion, integrity and the power of the human spirit. This volume also includes: Uncle's Dream, A Novel in Nine Letters, An Unpleasant Predicament, Another Man's Wife, The Heavenly Christmas Tree, The Peasant Marey, The Crocodile, Bobok, and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man.
