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- Choose our modern English edition if you want the whole Idiot: all four parts, nothing left out, with a 15-minute summary beside it.
- For study: set a few key passages of The Idiot beside a close, annotated scholarly translation.
How translations differ
The Idiot was published in instalments in 1868 and 1869, but its story extends across four parts. A translator must therefore decide how to carry the narrative from one instalment to another while maintaining continuity across the novel as a whole.
What makes The Idiot hard to translate
Russian names give a translator more to handle than a single label for each character. A person has a first name, a patronymic taken from the father's name, and a family name. Diminutives add further forms, so the same character can appear under several names. The translation must make those forms recognisable without treating each appearance as the introduction of a different person.
Many key scenes unfold through conversations in drawing rooms and at parties. Politeness can turn suddenly into scandal, and the translator must pace that change through the dialogue. In Part 1, Nastasya Filippovna's future becomes the subject of a bargain at an evening party. The challenge is to carry both the conversation and its abrupt changes of tone without blunting what is at stake for her.
The kinds of translation of The Idiot
| Kind of translation | What it keeps | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Close to the original | The Russian word order and flavour of The Idiot | Study, next to the Russian. |
| Smooth and natural | The Idiot as a story that reads like an English novel | A first read. |
| Annotated | The names, history and allusions of The Idiot, explained in notes | Study and teaching. |
| Library of Alexandria | The whole story of The Idiot, in clear, modern English | A first read, with a 15-minute summary beside it. Avaa laitoksemme |
When to set a passage beside a scholarly translation
For study, use our modern English edition for the whole story and set a few key passages beside a close, annotated scholarly translation. Compare the opening train journey to St Petersburg for its handling of the journey; Nastasya Filippovna's party in Part 1 for the bargain over her future; and a long drawing-room conversation in Part 2 for the pacing of dialogue.
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Questions
Is The Idiot hard to translate?
Yes: its conversations can turn suddenly from politeness to scandal, making the pacing hard to translate. Those changes occur within drawing-room and party scenes rather than only between separate episodes. A translator has to convey the turn in the exchange while keeping the conversation moving.
How long is The Idiot?
The Library of Alexandria edition takes about 16 hours to read at an average pace, covering the whole story. The novel has four parts, and that reading time covers all four.
Why does Prince Myshkin have so many names in The Idiot?
Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin's name follows the Russian pattern of first name, patronymic and family name. The patronymic is a name taken from the father. Russian also uses diminutives, so several forms of a name can refer to the same character rather than to different people.
Which kind of translation is best for a first read of The Idiot?
Smooth and natural suits a first read: it keeps a story that reads like an English novel. Its emphasis is the story in natural English. Close to the original suits study next to the Russian, while Annotated suits study and teaching through notes explaining names, history and allusions.
Is the Library of Alexandria edition of The Idiot complete?
Yes. The whole story is there, all four parts, in clear, modern language.
