The Idiot

One of the greatest novels of the 19th century, The Idiot is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s haunting exploration of innocence, society, and the fate of goodness. When Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin—a man of extraordinary kindness and simplicity—returns to Russia after years abroad, his genuine spirit collides with a society consumed by ambition, jealousy, and greed.

Torn between two very different women and caught in the schemes of those who cannot understand his purity, Myshkin becomes both a mirror and a mystery to those around him. Is he truly mad—or the only one sane enough to love without condition?

This edition, translated by Eva Martin and edited by C.S. Bleecker, David Widger, Martin Adamson, and Andrew Sly, preserves the richness of Dostoevsky’s voice while enhancing clarity for the modern reader. A work of moral urgency and tragic beauty, The Idiot remains a soul-stirring testament to the peril and possibility of living with an open heart.