Dostoyevsky's own passion for gambling lays in foundation of this novel. He first gambled at the gaming tables at Wiesbaden and later, when his passion for gambling subsided, he played at Baden-Baden, often beginning by winning a small amount of money and losing far more in the end. Using his future work as collateral with his publisher in exchange for cash he was eventually given a final deadline to complete the novel or sell the rights to all his work in the next nine years. So great was the pressure that Dostoyevsky was only able to finish the novel on time using one of the very first stenographers in Russia and his wife-to-be, Anna Grigorievna. 'And I believed in my system ... within a quarter of an hour I won 600 francs. This whetted my appetite. Suddenly I started to lose, couldn't control myself and lost everything. After that I ... took my last money, and went to play ...' ? From Dostoyevsky's letters to his brother Mikhail.

170 pages, black & white illustrations

Media	Books Paperback Book (Book with soft cover and glued back)
Released	February 9, 2012
ISBN13	9781907832543
Publishers	Max Bollinger
Pages	170
Dimensions	134 × 203 × 11 mm · 199 g
Language	English

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