6 h 49 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 167 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 167 pagesAbout this book
What if the chance to win becomes the one thing you cannot escape?
In Roulettenburg, a fashionable German resort built around a casino, Alexei Ivanovich works as tutor to a Russian General’s children. The household waits for an inheritance. The General is deep in debt, and Alexei loves Polina Alexandrovna, a proud, secretive woman who keeps him close while holding him at a distance.
Then Alexei sits down at the roulette wheel. Money promises more than comfort: it seems to offer freedom, power, and a way to answer humiliation. In The Gambler, Fyodor Dostoyevsky brings you inside Alexei’s restless account, where desire clouds judgment and the man telling the story is not a reliable guide.
What you’ll discover
- Inside the gambling mind Feel the pull of chance as Alexei stakes more than money on the wheel.
- Love tangled with pride Follow Alexei’s longing for Polina, where devotion and humiliation become hard to separate.
- A household built on debt Meet people whose hopes for love and status depend on someone else’s fortune.
- A voice you must question Listen closely as Alexei tells his story and exposes more than he understands.
- Experience behind the fiction Explore an obsession Dostoyevsky knows firsthand from his own losses at roulette tables.
Who will love it
For readers who love fast, feverish stories driven by character, and anyone curious about addiction seen from the inside, with love, pride and money at stake.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A household waiting for an inheritance
- Love that feeds on humiliation
- Alexei sits down at the wheel
- Grandmamma arrives and throws the house into chaos
- What the book says about luck, nations and self-destruction
- A confession told in a hurry
Who’s who
- Alexei IvanovichA proud, restless young tutor who tells the story, loves Polina, and wants to prove he is free.
- Polina AlexandrovnaThe General's stepdaughter, proud and secretive, who needs money and keeps Alexei close while holding him at a distance.
- The GeneralA retired Russian officer, deep in debt, who hopes for his aunt's fortune and wants to marry Mademoiselle Blanche.
- Mademoiselle BlancheA clever Frenchwoman who seeks a rich husband and keeps close to the General only while his fortune seems likely.
- The Marquis des GrieuxA smooth Frenchman who holds the General's debts over him and has his own hold on Polina.
- Mr. AstleyA steady, honest Englishman who befriends Alexei, quietly loves Polina, and speaks plainly to both.
- GrandmammaThe General's wealthy and formidable old aunt, Antonida Vasilievna, whom the family expects to die and who arrives to see the town.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 49 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 167 pages: 8,95 USD when you start free, 14,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 167 pages: 15,95 USD when you start free, 21,95 USD on its own.
- 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear The Gambler 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.
The Gambler
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky · 1866
At the roulette tables of Roulettenburg, Alexei stakes money, love and freedom on the thrill of risk.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Gambler is a short novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, published in 1866. He wrote it in great haste, dictating it to a young stenographer, Anna Snitkina, to meet a publishing deadline that threatened his rights to his earlier work.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A household waiting for an inheritance
The story opens in Roulettenburg, an invented German town built around a casino. Alexei Ivanovich has come there as tutor to the children of a Russian General. The General's party is a crowded one. It includes his stepdaughter Polina, his young children, a French gentleman called the Marquis des Grieux, and a Frenchwoman named Mademoiselle Blanche, who travels with her mother.
The household looks wealthy, but it is not. The General owes a great deal of money to the Marquis, who holds a claim on his estate. The General is also in love with Mademoiselle Blanche and means to marry her. She will only agree if she believes he is rich, and he is not rich yet.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Gambler
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs 14,95 USD on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: 8,95 USD for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Gambler by Dostoyevsky about?
It is about Alexei Ivanovich, a young Russian tutor at a German casino resort. He is in love with a woman who torments him, and he becomes caught by roulette, while the family he serves waits for an inheritance.
Is The Gambler based on a true story?
It is fiction, but it draws on Dostoyevsky's own life. He had gambled heavily in German spa towns, and he wrote the book in 1866 under severe money pressure and a tight publishing deadline.
Who is Polina in The Gambler?
Polina Alexandrovna is the General's stepdaughter. Alexei loves her, and she treats him with a mix of scorn and need. She has money troubles and a hidden bond with the Marquis des Grieux.
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.
More by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
All 11 books
Free
Free
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in classics
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
