DescriptionThe Insulted and Injured (also known as Humiliated and Insulted) is a book by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1861 in the magazineVremya. It is narrated by Ivan Petrovich, a struggling writer, who recounts a tangled web of relationships and conflicts involving himself, his childhood love Natasha, and Prince Alexey, the selfish and manipulative son of Prince Valkovsky. Natasha defies her family to be with Alexey, only to be cruelly abandoned as he pursues a socially advantageous marriage arranged by his father. Meanwhile, Ivan becomes a protector to Nellie, a sickly orphan girl with a tragic past, whose story of suffering and loss mirrors the novel’s broader themes of human cruelty and compassion. The novel critiques the class system and the selfishness of the aristocracy while delving deeply into the emotional and psychological struggles of its characters. Through Ivan’s perspective, Dostoevsky weaves a tale of unrequited love, moral dilemmas, and the redemptive power of empathy. This translation by Constance Garnett was first published in 1914.