AfewwordsaboutDostoevskyhimselfmayhelptheEnglishreadertounderstandhiswork。
Dostoevskywasthesonofadoctor。Hisparentswereveryhard-workinganddeeplyreligiouspeople，butsopoorthattheylivedwiththeirfivechildreninonlytworooms。Thefatherandmotherspenttheireveningsinreadingaloudtotheirchildren，generallyfrombooksofaseriouscharacter。
ThoughalwayssicklyanddelicateDostoevskycameoutthirdinthefinalexaminationofthePetersburgschoolofEngineering。Therehehadalreadybegunhisfirstwork，“PoorFolk。”
ThisstorywaspublishedbythepoetNekrassovinhisreviewandwasreceivedwithacclamations。Theshy，unknownyouthfoundhimselfinstantlysomethingofacelebrity。Abrilliantandsuccessfulcareerseemedtoopenbeforehim，butthosehopesweresoondashed。In1849hewasarrested。
Thoughneitherbytemperamentnorconvictionarevolutionist，DostoevskywasoneofalittlegroupofyoungmenwhomettogethertoreadFourierandProudhon。Hewasaccusedof“takingpartinconversationsagainstthecensorship，ofreadingaletterfromByelinskytoGogol，andofknowingoftheintentiontosetupaprintingpress。”UnderNicholasI。(that“sternandjustman，”asMauriceBaringcallshim)thiswasenough，andhewascondemnedtodeath。Aftereightmonths’imprisonmenthewaswithtwenty-oneotherstakenouttotheSemyonovskySquaretobeshot。WritingtohisbrotherMihail，Dostoevskysays:“Theysnappedwordsoverourheads，andtheymadeusputonthewhiteshirtswornbypersonscondemnedtodeath。Thereuponwewereboundinthreestostakes，tosufferexecution。Beingthethirdintherow，IconcludedIhadonlyafewminutesoflifebeforeme。IthoughtofyouandyourdearonesandIcontrivedtokissPlestcheievandDourov，whowerenexttome，andtobidthemfarewell。Suddenlythetroopsbeatatattoo，wewereunbound，broughtbackuponthescaffold，andinformedthathisMajestyhadsparedusourlives。”Thesentencewascommutedtohardlabour。
Oneoftheprisoners，Grigoryev，wentmadassoonashewasuntied，andneverregainedhissanity。
TheintensesufferingofthisexperienceleftalastingstamponDostoevsky’smind。Thoughhisreligioustemperledhimintheendtoaccepteverysufferingwithresignationandtoregarditasablessinginhisowncase，heconstantlyrecurstothesubjectinhiswritings。Hedescribestheawfulagonyofthecondemnedmanandinsistsonthecrueltyofinflictingsuchtorture。Thenfollowedfouryearsofpenalservitude，spentinthecompanyofcommoncriminalsinSiberia，wherehebeganthe“DeadHouse，”andsomeyearsofserviceinadisciplinarybattalion。
Hehadshownsignsofsomeobscurenervousdiseasebeforehisarrestandthisnowdevelopedintoviolentattacksofepilepsy，fromwhichhesufferedfortherestofhislife。Thefitsoccurredthreeorfourtimesayearandweremorefrequentinperiodsofgreatstrain。In1859hewasallowedtoreturntoRussia。Hestartedajournal—“Vremya，”whichwasforbiddenbytheCensorshipthroughamisunderstanding。In1864helosthisfirstwifeandhisbrotherMihail。Hewasinterriblepoverty，yethetookuponhimselfthepaymentofhisbrother’sdebts。Hestartedanotherjournal—“TheEpoch，”whichwithinafewmonthswasalsoprohibited。Hewasweigheddownbydebt，hisbrother’sfamilywasdependentonhim，hewasforcedtowriteatheart-breakingspeed，andissaidnevertohavecorrectedhiswork。Thelateryearsofhislifeweremuchsoftenedbythetendernessanddevotionofhissecondwife。
InJune1880hemadehisfamousspeechattheunveilingofthemonumenttoPushkininMoscowandhewasreceivedwithextraordinarydemonstrationsofloveandhonour。
AfewmonthslaterDostoevskydied。Hewasfollowedtothegravebyavastmultitudeofmourners，who“gavethehaplessmanthefuneralofaking。”HeisstillprobablythemostwidelyreadwriterinRussia。
InthewordsofaRussiancritic，whoseekstoexplainthefeelinginspiredbyDostoevsky:“Hewasoneofourselves，amanofourbloodandourbone，butonewhohassufferedandhasseensomuchmoredeeplythanwehavehisinsightimpressesusaswisdom…thatwisdomoftheheartwhichweseekthatwemaylearnfromithowtolive。Allhisothergiftscametohimfromnature，thishewonforhimselfandthroughithebecamegreat。”
