Poor Folk, sometimes translated as The Wretched, is Fyodor Dostoevsky's first novel, written over nine months between 1844 and 1845. Dostoevsky was in financial distress due to his extravagant lifestyle and gambling addiction. Although he had translated several foreign novels, they brought him little success, so he decided to write a novel himself in an attempt to raise money.

The story is inspired by the works of Gogol, Pushkin, and Karamzin, as well as English and French novels. It is written in the form of letters between the two main characters, Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova, who are poor distant cousins. The novel explores the lives of the poor, their relationship with the rich, and poverty in general—all common themes in literary naturalism. A friendship develops between them until Dobroselova loses her interest in literature. She continues to correspond with Devushkin after a wealthy widower named Mr. Bykov proposes to her. Devushkin is the archetype of the clerk found in many works of naturalistic literature of that time, and he retains his sentimental characteristics. While Dobroselova gives up on art, Devushkin cannot live without literature.

• Author: Dostoevsky
• Translator: Sophie Abdullah
• Publisher: Tabarak for Publishing and Distribution - Cairo
• Edition: 1
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Number of Pages: 192
• Number of Parts: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• Paper Type: Recycled
• Printing: Monochrome
• ISBN: 9789776735217