Dostoevsky’s Money Management

March 25

It’s hard to find a writer more accomplished than Dostoevsky—who captured both the spirit of his time and the kind of timeless truths that become classics not just once, but multiple times in his novels.

When his books began to earn him fortunes, he suddenly found he could no longer write. Like the mid 19th century equivalent of golden handcuffs. The financial success took away the burning need to write, and he found he could pen nothing worthwhile.

In the days before centralized banking and credit cards, Dostoevsky would physically amass all the money he had, and take it to a casino, where he would gamble aggressively until he had nothing left.

Here are three objective facts about how Dostoevsky managed his fortunes:

One. This system of money management caused him endless troubles, ending marriages and regularly placing is family in a position of selling off their possessions to afford to eat.

Two. In a round about way, he was incredibly disciplined. He had a system and he stuck to it without any form of external pressure. In fact, he stuck with it against everyone telling him he should stop.

Three. None of this really changes what it’s like to read the books he wrote.

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