
A solitary clerk lives a quiet, almost hermit‑like existence, his days marked by routine and the gentle presence of Agrafena, the housekeeper who rarely speaks. When she insists on taking in a lodger, he reluctantly agrees, and an elderly ex‑soldier named Astafy Ivanovich moves into the cramped quarters. Astafy’s seasoned stories and steady companionship quickly become a bright spot in the narrator’s otherwise monotonous life.
Soon after, a mysterious stranger appears in the hallway, claiming to be looking for someone named Alexandrov. The visitor’s sudden appearance and a bold attempt to pilfer the clerk’s coat set off a brief, tense chase that rattles the calm of the household. This opening vignette blends humor and intrigue, inviting listeners to wonder how a simple act of hospitality might stir up unexpected consequences.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (442K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, sp1nd, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2012-09-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1821–1881
Best known for turning guilt, faith, freedom, and desperation into unforgettable fiction, this Russian novelist wrote with unusual psychological depth. His life was marked by hardship, political danger, illness, and debt, and those pressures helped shape some of literature’s most intense and human novels.
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