February 15, 1867
Feodor Dostoyevsky & Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina

The Dostoyevskis

In October of 1866 at the age of 44, Feodor Dostoyevsky, author of classics Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, found himself in a predicament.

He had been contracted to write the novel The Gambler and only had a few weeks to finish. If he didn’t complete it on time, he had agreed that he would forfeit the money for all of his writings for the next nine years.

With the clock ticking, a friend suggested that he hire a stenographer so that he could dictate the story and save time.

Dostoyevsky took his friend’s advice and Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina, a 20-year-old typist, showed up at his door. Over the next few weeks, they spent every waking hour together and Dostoyevsky fell in love.

He was afraid of rejection, so he dictated his marriage proposal to her as a plot point in the novel. After getting her opinion on whether a younger woman would fall for a middle-aged man, he had the courage to ask her in real life.

She accepted, they finished the novel on time and were married only a few months later. In the years after their marriage, he produced some of his greatest works.

Writer’s block might be the worst affliction an author can encounter. But for Dostoyevsky, it ended up being one of the best things to ever happen to him. He and his wife were married for the rest of his life.