Dostoevsky, Russian novelist, is considered one of the most outstanding and influential writers of modern literature. Two of the stories, The Gambler, which concerns a young man who frequents the fashionable spas and casinos of Germany; and Poor People consisting of a series of love-letters exchanged between two poor folk whose lives are spent amid the slums of St. Petersburg each ends with a hint of tragedy. The third story included in this volume is The Landlady.