The Best Translation of Devils
Devils was written in Russian. 3 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Constance Garnett
Dover · 1916 · 704 pages
Garnett translated this as The Possessed, which is what the book was called for most of the twentieth century. Smoother than the Russian, and the version Camus and the early modernists were arguing with.
Every recommended edition, compared
Maguire's translation, edited by Ronald Meyer, is the modern Penguin. Crucially, it restores the At Tikhon's chapter (Stavrogin's confession) that earlier editions suppressed.
P&V call it Demons. Their trademark vocal precision pays off here: Stepan Trofimovich, Pyotr, Stavrogin, Kirilov each sound like themselves on the page. Strong alternative to Maguire.
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Reading Devils in translation
Devils was written in Russian, so unless you read Russian, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.