Dostoevsky first began his notes on Brothers Karamazov in April of 1878. These notes, in addition to a number of unfinished works from previous years, would eventually be incorporated into the final novel. Of particular note is The Life of a Great Sinner, an epic poem Dostoevsky had intended to write that eventually became sidelined for other writing. In A Writer's Diary, fromOctober 1877, he also mentioned a "literary work that has imperceptibly and involuntarily been taking shape within me over these two years." The Diary would go on to allude to a number of themes that remain present in The Brothers Karamazov.
In May of 1878, Dostoevsky's son Alyosha died of epilepsy, and his grief...
