Letters from the Underworld [Notes from Underground]

London & New York: J. M. Dent / E. P. Dutton, 1913. First Edition in English. Near Fine. First edition in English of Dostoevsky's landmark novel. In the publisher's rare deluxe half pigskin binding, with spine lettered in gilt; all edges stained dark brown. Also published in this volume are the first English appearances of two other works by Dostoevsky, The Gentle Maiden and The Landlady. Near Fine with light rubbing to extremities, faint stain to front cover visible in raking light. The first English translation of Dostoevsky's novella Letters from the Underworld (i.e. Notes from Underground), first issued serially in Russian in 1864 in Dostoevsky's (truncated) journal Epokha, which was edited by his brother Mikhail. The work has been described as "probably the most important single source of the modern dystopia." The challenge posed by the Underground Man towards the idea of an "enlightened" society laid the groundwork for later writing, serving as an important influence to Friedrich Nietzsche, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man among others. (Inventory #: 140947940)