HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.

I am a dreamer; I have so little real life that I look upon such moments as this now, as so rare, that I cannot help going over such moments again in my dreams.

‘White Nights’ is the bittersweet story of a lonely young man’s love found and lost over four magical midsummer evenings in St. Petersburg. This collection brings together seven of Dostoyevsky’s beloved short stories, including 'Bobok', an eavesdrop on the conversations of the dead, 'An Unpleasant Predicament', which follows a brazen wedding-crasher, and 'The Crocodile', in which a man is gobbled up at the Arcade.

This selection of tales bring to life the cunning wives, buffoonish officials, greedy men and political prisoners of imperial Russia, showcasing Dostoyevsky’s dry wit – both absurd and satirical – while revealing his deep compassion. Considered one of the most influential writers of all time, his empathy and idealism resonates today as a powerful antidote to the disillusionment of modern life.

A selection of Dostoyevsky's short stories:

White Nights

The Crocodile

A Novel in Nine Letters

An Unpleasant Predicament

The Peasant Marey

Bobok

A Christmas Tree and a Wedding

A Gentle Spirit