The House of the Dead (novel)
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- This page is about the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. For other uses of the title, see The House of the Dead
The House of the Dead (Russian: Записки из Мёртвого дома) is a novel published in 1862 by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, which portrays the life of convicts in a Siberian prison camp. The novel has also been published under the titles Memoirs from the House of The Dead and Notes from the Dead House.
The book is a loosely-knit collection of facts and events connected to life in a Siberian prison, organised by "theme" rather than as a continuous story. Dostoevsky himself spent four years in exile in such a camp following his conviction for involvement in the Petrashevsky circle. This experience allowed him to describe with great authenticity the conditions of prison life and the characters of the convicts.
In 1927 – 1928, Leoš Janáček wrote an operatic version of the novel, with the title From the House of the Dead. It was his last opera.
[edit] Plot summary
The narrator, Aleksandr Petrovich Goryanchikov, has been sentenced to deportation to Siberia and ten year's hard labour. Life in prison is particularly hard for Aleksandr Petrovich, since he is a "gentleman" and suffers the malice of the other prisoners, nearly all of whom belong to the peasantry. Gradually Goryanchikov overcomes his revulsion at his situation and his fellow convicts, undergoing a spiritual re-awakening that culminates with his release from the camp. It is a work of great humanity; Dostoyevsky portrays the inmates of the prison with sympathy for their plight, and also expresses admiration for their energy, ingenuity and talent. He concludes that the existence of the prison, with its absurd practices and savage corporal punishments is a tragic fact, both for the prisoners and for Russia itself.
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