The Double (First Edition)

Dostoyevsky’s second novel, in the Harvill Press edition of 1957 in George Bird’s English translation.

The Double first appeared in January 1846 in the journal Notes of the Fatherland, subtitled A Petersburg Poem, and Dostoyevsky revised it for republication in 1866. It follows Yakov Golyadkin, a struggling St Petersburg clerk who meets a man who looks exactly like him. The double gradually takes his place among his colleagues until Golyadkin’s grip on reality gives way. Critics have read the novel as a reworking of Gogol, as a study of madness and identity, and as a critique of bureaucratic society. Dostoyevsky himself felt that he had failed with its form, though he valued its idea, and Vladimir Nabokov, no great admirer of the author, thought it his best work. Harvill’s 1957 volume offers it in a translation by George Bird.

First edition of George Bird’s translation. Octavo. 254pp. Original blue cloth boards in the dust jacket, unclipped. Very good in like jacket, with some mild wear at the jacket extremities. The binding is sound and the spine a bit faded and soiled, with some foxing along the edges. The contents are clean and bright throughout.

Not currently on display in store. For viewing or more information, please contact: rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue Number: HH000861