Dostoevsky’s novel Demons first appeared in book form in 1873.
The novel had already been serialized in the journal The Russian Messenger during 1871 and 1872. Its first book edition followed in 1873, bringing the work together after its periodical publication. The novel is also known in English as The Possessed and The Devils, and in Russian as Besy.
The publication history matters because the serial version was shaped by editorial and political circumstances. Some material caused controversy, and the novel’s treatment of revolutionary violence and radical ideology was unusually provocative for its time. The book edition allowed readers to encounter the work as a complete whole.
Demons was inspired in part by the 1869 murder of Ivan Ivanov by members of a revolutionary group led by Sergei Nechaev. Dostoevsky transformed that political event into a broad examination of fanaticism, manipulation, and spiritual disintegration.