The Devil

An edition from the "Kaleidoscope Lite" series. Printed in 12pt type with wide line spacing for maximum readability. Unabridged. Modern translation. The publication is supplemented with an annotation that examines ten interesting facts about Leo Tolstoy.The story follows a young landowner, Eugene Irtenev, who seemingly has everything: a thriving estate, a high social standing, and a loving wife. However, a past affair with a peasant woman named Stepanida turns into an uncontrollable obsession that begins to consume his mind. This work is a profound exploration of the struggle between moral duty and animal instinct, showing how a man's past can become his undoing.The novella reflected Tolstoy's personal experiences related to his infatuation in his youth with a Yasnaya Polyana peasant woman, Aksinya Bazykina, and at the age of 49, with a cook, Domna, against his feelings for whom he struggled. The plot basis of the novella reflects real events from the life of a Tula judicial investigator, N. N. Friederichs, who, three months after marrying a noblewoman, killed a peasant woman, Stepanida Munitsyna, with whom he previously had a relationship, with a revolver shot. Later, two months later, he himself was found crushed by a train.