The Gambler

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Gambler — In the fictional town of Roulettenberg, Germany, a Russian tutor to the children of a seemingly wealthy general is enticed to play roulette at the local casino. First playing for others (including his beloved Polina Alexandrovna), he soon gets a taste for the experience himself, which can lead in only one direction. Dostoevsky drew partly on his own earlier gambling experiences. In 1865, under pressure from debts, he signed a harsh contract with publisher Fyodor Stellovsky: if he failed to deliver a new novel by 1 November 1866, the publisher could print his works for nine years without paying him. He completed The Gambler in time with the help of stenographer Anna Snitkina, whom he married in 1867. Their later travels took them to Baden-Baden, where he again lost large sums at roulette. He later went on to write The Idiot. The Gambler has been adapted for screen and radio, and was even turned into an opera by Prokofiev. This edition is the 1915 translation by C. J. Hogarth.

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