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    The Idiot

    Part of Penguin Clothbound Classics

    Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    Cover Design or Artwork by Coralie Bickford-Smith
    Introduction by William Mills Todd
    Translated by David McDuff
    Notes by David McDuff
    Hardcover (Cloth-over-Board, no jacket)
    $32.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    5.36"W x 8.05"H x 1.78"D   (13.6 x 20.4 x 4.5 cm) | 32 oz (902 g) | 12 per carton
    On sale Dec 02, 2025 | 784 Pages | 9780241739822
    Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt
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    A Dostoyevsky classic about suffering and sickness, now a Penguin Clothbound Classic designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

    Inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Dostoyevsky set out to create a protagonist with 'a truly beautiful soul' and to trace the fate of such an individual as he comes into contact with the brutal reality of contemporary society. The novel begins when the innocent epileptic Prince Myshkin - the 'idiot' - arrives in St Petersburg and finds himself drawn into a web of violent and passionate relationships that leads to blackmail, betrayal and eventually murder. This is a stunning new Clothbound Classics edition of Dostoyevsky's great novel, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith and translated by David McDuff. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality colorful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.

    Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
    “A book that manages like no other to plunge fearlessly into suffering while at the same time illuminating the enduring, almost unspeakable beauty of the human.” —Laurie Sheck, The Atlantic
     
    “One of the most excoriating, compelling, and remarkable books ever written: and without question one of the greatest.” —A. C. Grayling
     
    “A masterpiece . . . a fact of world literature just as important as the densely dramatic Brothers Karamazov or the brilliantly subtle and terrifying Devils. . . . [an] excellent new translation.” —The Guardian
     
    “McDuff's language is rich and alive.” —The New York Times Book Review

    “[The Idiot's] narrative is so compelling.” —Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
    Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), one of nineteenth-century Russia’s greatest novelists, spent four years in a convict prison in Siberia, after which he was obliged to enlist in the army. In later years his penchant for gambling sent him deeply into debt. Most of his important works were written after 1864, including Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov, all available from Penguin Classics. View titles by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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    The IdiotChronology
    Introduction
    Further Reading
    A Note on the Translation

    The Idiot

    Notes

    About

    A Dostoyevsky classic about suffering and sickness, now a Penguin Clothbound Classic designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

    Inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Dostoyevsky set out to create a protagonist with 'a truly beautiful soul' and to trace the fate of such an individual as he comes into contact with the brutal reality of contemporary society. The novel begins when the innocent epileptic Prince Myshkin - the 'idiot' - arrives in St Petersburg and finds himself drawn into a web of violent and passionate relationships that leads to blackmail, betrayal and eventually murder. This is a stunning new Clothbound Classics edition of Dostoyevsky's great novel, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith and translated by David McDuff. These delectable and collectible Penguin editions are bound in high-quality colorful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.

    Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Praise

    “A book that manages like no other to plunge fearlessly into suffering while at the same time illuminating the enduring, almost unspeakable beauty of the human.” —Laurie Sheck, The Atlantic
     
    “One of the most excoriating, compelling, and remarkable books ever written: and without question one of the greatest.” —A. C. Grayling
     
    “A masterpiece . . . a fact of world literature just as important as the densely dramatic Brothers Karamazov or the brilliantly subtle and terrifying Devils. . . . [an] excellent new translation.” —The Guardian
     
    “McDuff's language is rich and alive.” —The New York Times Book Review

    “[The Idiot's] narrative is so compelling.” —Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

    Author

    Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), one of nineteenth-century Russia’s greatest novelists, spent four years in a convict prison in Siberia, after which he was obliged to enlist in the army. In later years his penchant for gambling sent him deeply into debt. Most of his important works were written after 1864, including Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov, all available from Penguin Classics. View titles by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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    Table of Contents

    The IdiotChronology
    Introduction
    Further Reading
    A Note on the Translation

    The Idiot

    Notes

    Additional formats

    Other books in this series

    Other Books by this Author

    Penguin Random House International Sales

    © 2026 Penguin Random House

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