Dostoevsky's life, as clearly and movingly demonstrated by M. Troyat [in "Firebrand"], was an amazing triumph of the spirit over matter and circumstances.

Henri Troyat 1911– Courtesy of Henri Troyat

Through an intimate knowledge of nineteenth-century Russian places and persons and of his subject's writings in their original language … Henry Troyat is able to recreate Dostoevsky's lifelong pilgrimage through the purgatory of existence…. [One] of the main merits of Troyat's faithful account is to demonstrate the interdependence of the author's life and work. Dostoevsky put his friends into his books without bothering to disguise them greatly. Like himself, many of his heroes are forever dodging their creditors; they are irresistibly attracted by vices, such as gambling; they are subject to spasms and anxieties and are overemotional and contradictory. One way of approaching them is through M. Troyat's biography, which reveals how they were conceived and created.

His book, however...