The Gambler

"Travelling in the retinue of an impoverished Russian General, young teacher Alexei seeks solace in the dream of a life-changing win at the roulette table. As the general sinks deeper into debt and the long-awaited inheritance from his ailing grandmother fails to materialise, Alexei's frustrated financial and sentimental aspirations gain momentum. When Grandmama herself turns up at Roulettenburg and starts gambling away her family possessions with Alexei's assistance, all those who seek to gain from her death look on with ill-concealed horror. And as passion, hatred and unadulterated greed rise to the surface, Dostoevsky creates a darkly psychological novel of truly extraordinary vision." "Based on Dostoevsky's own troubled experiences at the gaming tables, The Gambler is a telling portrayal of a man crippled by the overwhelming powers of addiction and obsession." --Book Jacket.