White Nights and Other Stories

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White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky features seven works: "White Nights," "Notes from the Underground," "A Faint Heart," "A Christmas Tree and a Wedding," "Polzunkov," "A Little Hero," and "Mr. Prohartchin." Dostoyevsky, a Russian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer, is renowned for his deep psychological insights into the human soul, which significantly influenced 20th-century literature. Born the second son of a former army doctor, he was educated at home and in private schools. After his mother's death in 1837, he moved to St. Petersburg to attend the Army Engineering College. His father's death in 1839, rumored to be at the hands of his own serfs, marked a turning point in his life. Graduating as a military engineer, Dostoyevsky resigned in 1844 to pursue writing, debuting with "Poor Folk" in 1846. He became involved with utopian socialists but was arrested in 1849, facing a death sentence that was commuted to imprisonment in Siberia. He endured four years of hard labor and additional years as a soldier in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1854, he emerged as a writer with a religious mission, producing works that reflect his Siberian experiences, including "The House of the Dead," "The Insulted and Injured," and "Winter Notes on Summer Impressions."