The Gambler Background

The Gambler Background

"The Gambler" is the world-famous novel by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1866.

In 1863, Fyodor Dostoyevsky came to rest in Wiesbaden. There in a few days he lost all his money gambling. To get out of debt, he signed a contract with the publishing house in the early writing of the new novel "The Gambler". The contract stated that if Dostoevsky did not write a novel in time, Stellovsky (the editor) gets the right to publish freely within 9 years all future works of Dostoevsky. This contract bears little resemblance to the contract and is more like a bondage. But Dostoevsky accepted the rules because he needed money at the time of signing the contract. But the writer managed to accomplish the novel in time.

When working on the novel, Dostoevsky, on the advice of his friend, decided for the first time not to write the manuscript himself, and took a stenographer. Dostoevsky agreed not immediately, because such a method of work was not familiar for the writer. But in the course of work, he has mastered the dictation, and soon made friends with his stenographer Anna Snitkina and married her right after the novel was completed. Following the wedding, the young went on a honeymoon trip to Europe - particularly in Baden-Baden, where the story has repeated. After this incident, Dostoevsky gave his wife promise not to play, which he kept and did not play the last 10 years of his life.

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