White Nights is one of Dostoevsky's earlier short stories, but also one of his most enduringly popular. It tells the story of four nights in...

White Nights is one of Dostoevsky's earlier short stories, but also one of his most enduringly popular. It tells the story of four nights in the life of a lonely narrator, who meets and falls in love with the mysterious and beautiful Nastenka.

Poor Folk was Dostoevsky's first novel, written to try to alleviate his financial plight, and was a commercial success. It tells the story of Makar Devushkin, a clerk, and Varvara Dobroselova, a seamstress, through the letters they exchange. They are in love, but too poor to marry. Its exploration of humanitarian themes led to it being described as Russia's first 'social novel'.

By contrast, Dostoevsky's second novel, The Double, was not well received. First published in 1846, it was revised and republished by Dostoevsky in 1866, but he did not consider it a success. Vladimir Nabokov, however, called it 'the best thing he ever wrote' and described it as 'a perfect work of art'.