The Political and Social Thought of F.M. Dostoevsky

First published in 1991, this study concentrates on The Devils, but also places this novel in the total context of Dostoevsky’s work. Also considered is T.N. Granovsky, who is satirised along with Turgenev in the novel. Carter concludes that Dostoevsky badly misunderstood Western liberalism, but grappled very well with the psychology of the radical terrorist. This is explained with reference to his intellectual revolution beginning in the 1840s.