a small rich girl and a poor boy, children unaffected by the social machinations of their parents, who still displayed genuine innocence. He soon saw, however, how the twisted schemes of upper-crust adults could nonetheless bend that sweet illusion to their advantage.

Through an exchange of gifts Dostoevsky pulls the rug from under the readers and paints a picture of inequality and social injustice. The unexpected conclusion to the past events back at the wedding is presented as a gripping warning, and makes for a tale suitable for readers of all ages. Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a famous Russian writer of novels, short stories, and essays. A connoisseur of the troubled human psyche and the relationships between individuals, Dostoevsky’s oeuvre covers a large area of subjects: politics, religion, social issues, philosophy, and the uncharted realms of the psychological. He is most famous for the novels "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", and "The Brothers Karamazov".