Fyodor Dostoevsky

Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was a pathological gambler who wrote his famous work "The Gambler" in 1866 as an effort to rescue his finances.

"The Gambler" is a description of his life as a gambler, brilliantly capturing the odd yet powerful compulsion to bet, which Dostoyevsky himself was very familiar with.

The story's hero, Alexey Ivanovitch, rides an emotional rollercoaster between exhilaration and despair, and supporting characters like the wealthy but aging grandmother, who tosses most of her fortune away at the gambling tables, are powerfully memorable. The grandmother's death is eagerly anticipated, and she rides the train from Russia to "Roulettenburg" where she gambles an entire fortune at the casino while her heirs face ruin and romantic catastrophe.

In his attempts to break beyond the barrier of the established order in Russia, Alexey's life instead begins spiraling downward amid endless betting and losses. His severe compulsion is accentuated by his affair with Polina, a general's vindictive though seductive niece.