Written over the span of nine months from 1844 to 1845, Poor Folk is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s first novel. An epistolary novel, the narrative unfolds through letters between the two main characters, second cousins Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova. The novel depicts the lives of poor people and their relationship with the rich. Both of the cousins are poor, and through their correspondence, they develop a deep connection until they reach an impasse: Dobroselova loses her interest in literature ...