~ 1866 ~
"The Gambler" is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky which reflects his own addiction to roulette. The main character is Alexei Ivanovich, a tutor working for a Russian family in a German hotel. The General, his employer, is indebted to a Frenchman and has mortgaged his Russian properties to pay his debt. Meanwhile, Alexei is in love with Polina, the General's niece, and becomes embroiled in their financial troubles. The novel reflects Dostoevsky's own experiences as he wrote under a strict deadline to pay off his gambling debts. The novel has been adapted into opera, film and television.