White Nights

It is the time of the White Nights, when darkness never quite falls over Saint Petersburg. The narrator, a young man and lonesome dreamer, wanders through the quiet summer evenings, emptied of their usual bustle. One night he encounters a distraught girl, seventeen-year-old Nastenka. They strike up a conversation that continues over the course of four evenings, as they tell each other about their lives, their dreams, hopes, and sorrows. From this chance meeting a tender love begins to grow. But Nastenka s heart belongs to someone else.

Dostoevsky s novella, one of the most celebrated love stories in world literature, is presented here in the classic translation by Constance Garnett. The volume is accompanied by distinctive illustrations by Stella Dreis.