Great reading that provides a sense of the city, from the Traveler online Ultimate Travel Library
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The Bronze Horseman, by Aleksandr Pushkin (1833)
Brilliant narrative poem that captures the majestic and awesome struggle between man and nature that is St. Petersburg.
To The Hermitage, by Malcolm Bradbury (2000)
A time and culture traveling novel that’s also a bit of a self-portrait by one of Britain’s leading writers of the late 20th century.
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866)
Based in St. Petersburg, this is one of the darkest, most insightful, and dramatic portrayals of the tragedies of human existence.
The Master of Petersburg, by J.M. Coetzee (1994)
A mystery novel by the Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee based on an imaginative vision of Dostoyevsky obsessed by his stepson’s ghost.
The Nose and The Overcoat, by Nikolay Gogol (1836 and 1842)
Satirical, witty, and almost surreal short stories that convey much about the ways of life in early 19th-century Petersburg.
St. Petersburg: A Cultural History, by Solomon Volkov (1995)
Entertaining overview of the evolution of the city’s architecture, art, music, and philosophy.
Peter the Great, by Robert K. Massie (1980)
An engrossing account of Tsar Peter’s life and legacy. Illuminating early history of the city.
