The Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee.Publication Date: 1994
Published in 1994, J. M. Coetzee’s novel "The Master of Petersburg" features a fictional plot set in St. Petersburg with Dostoevsky as its protagonist. Coetzee draws upon the author’s biographical information, an omitted chapter from his 1872 novel "Demons," and ongoing historical events. In the opening chapter, the novel begins in the familiar setting of Raskolnikov’s confession, the Haymarket, and traces the author’s return after the death of his stepson. What follows is a complex mix of facts and fiction about Dostoevsky’s life, rooted in a novel that confronts the themes of personal grief, political scandal, and spiritual searching.
John Maxwell Coetzee, born in Cape Town, 1940, is a South African novelist, essayist, and translator. He was awarded "The Irish Times" International Fiction Prize in 1995 for "The Master of Petersburg," and received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the fifth African writer to be so honoured. A former Fulbright Scholar, Coetzee has taught English literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo and held the position of Professor of General Literature at the University of Cape Town from 1983-2002.