Facts About Crime and Punishment

•  He was inspired by the French poet and murderer Pierre Francois Lacenaire for the crime Raskolnikov does in the novel and most of the crime was exactly like the Pierre murder.
• Unlike most of the western literature of the time, Dostoevsky put in many real world locations and descriptions of places, adding realism that most western novels lacked.
• Crime and Punishment was a stark contrast to the romantic novels currently being published at the time.
• Many aspects of the novel reflected Dostoevsky's experiences with death in his life.
• Crime and Punishment was initially not going to be a full length novel, merely a short story or novella