6 h 58 minAudiobook16 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a glance from a stranger is enough to turn your proudest morning into a private nightmare?
In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Double, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin wakes in Petersburg, unsure whether his dreams have ended. A small mirror reassures him. A worn wallet holds seven hundred and fifty rubles, which he counts with delight. He dresses with care and prepares to go out, eager to look the part of a man whose plans are going well.
But pleasure keeps slipping into suspicion. His servant Petrushka talks with others in the hall, and Golyadkin feels betrayed without knowing what they say. A hired blue carriage promises a grand entrance into the city. Then he spots two fellow officials and shrinks into a dark corner. This psychological thriller makes identity, appearances, and a troubled sense of self feel painfully close.
What you’ll discover
- A mind watching itself Follow Golyadkin as satisfaction with his reflection gives way to uneasy self-consciousness.
- Finery and frayed edges Petrushka’s oversized borrowed uniform puts an awkward edge on his master’s careful preparations.
- Money held like hope A carefully counted bundle of banknotes gives Golyadkin a glowing sense of possibility.
- Petersburg beyond the window Damp streets and passing faces turn a carriage ride into an anxious public appearance.
- Confidence on fragile ground Feel the distance between the dignity Golyadkin displays and the fear he hides.
Who will love it
Readers who like psychological suspense, dark humor and stories of one mind coming apart will find a close companion here, and so will anyone curious about doubles, mistaken identity and Dostoyevsky's early voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A clerk plays at being rich
- Turned away from the dinner
- Hiding, then breaking into the ball
- A stranger on the Fontanka
- A namesake takes the next desk
- The friend becomes a rival
- Every door closes on him
- What the double stands for
- A comic voice around a frightened mind
Who’s who
- Yakov Petrovich GolyadkinA proud, nervous titular councilor who wants respect, a rise in rank and a place at his benefactor's table, and who fears secret enemies.
- The younger GolyadkinThe newcomer with the same face and name, who charms the office, takes credit for the older man's work and seems to want his place.
- PetrushkaGolyadkin's barefoot servant, lazy and sly, who watches his master with a knowing smile and is drawn toward other masters.
- Andrey FilippovichThe department head, stern and formal, who values order and keeps his distance from Golyadkin's complaints.
- Olsufy Ivanovich BerendeevThe old state councilor who was Golyadkin's benefactor and who now keeps him out of his house.
- Klara OlsufyevnaOlsufy Ivanovich's daughter, whose birthday ball draws Golyadkin, and whom he half hopes to win.
- Krestyan Ivanovich RutenspitzGolyadkin's doctor, a healthy, sharp-eyed man who advises cheerful company and cannot follow his patient's speeches.
- Anton Antonovich SetochkinThe kindly, talkative chief clerk who sits beside Golyadkin and wants only to finish his work in peace.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 58 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 16 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Der Doppelgänger in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Der Doppelgänger
by Fjodor Dostojewski · 1846
A petty clerk in Petersburg meets a man with his own face, who begins taking over his life.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Double is an early work by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Russian novelist who later wrote Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. It follows one small official in Petersburg, a titular councilor named Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, over a few cold November days.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A clerk plays at being rich
It is nearly eight on a gray autumn morning when Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin wakes in his small room on Shestilavochnaya Street in Petersburg. He is a titular councilor, a modest rank in the civil service, and he works as assistant to a head clerk. His first act is to check a little round mirror for any pimple or flaw that might spoil his day. Then he unlocks a drawer and counts a bundle of banknotes, seven hundred and fifty rubles, for what seems the hundredth time.
His servant Petrushka is not in his room but gossiping with other servants in the entryway. When he returns, he wears a worn green livery borrowed for the occasion, and he watches his master with an odd, knowing smile. A hired carriage has arrived too, and so have new boots. Golyadkin dresses with great care, winks at his reflection and drives off toward Nevsky Prospect, looking like a man who has pulled off a splendid trick.
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What is The Double by Dostoyevsky about?
It follows Mr. Golyadkin, a Petersburg clerk, who meets a man with his own face and name. The double joins his office, wins over colleagues and superiors, and pushes him toward social and mental collapse.
Is the double real or in Golyadkin's head?
The book keeps both possibilities open. Colleagues treat the newcomer as an ordinary clerk, yet Golyadkin's fever, fear and sleeplessness suggest his mind is under strain. Many readers enjoy holding both readings together.
Who is Golyadkin and what is his rank?
Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin is a titular councilor, a modest rank in the Russian civil service. He works as assistant to a head clerk, lives with his servant Petrushka and longs for respect and advancement.
The author
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1821–1881 · Russian novelist
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a Russian novelist born in Moscow in 1821. He lived in Saint Petersburg and spent years in Siberia after his arrest in 1849. He wrote Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1868–1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1879–1880). He died in Saint Petersburg in 1881.
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