The typeface used in this book is 12 point Original Old Style, in red and black ink. Old Style fonts, commonly referred to as Humanist typefaces, are based on handwriting and lettering done by scribes in the 15th century. According to Site Point, Old Style’s “relation to calligraphy can be seen in the curved strokes and letters with thick to thin transitions, looking somewhat like letters drawn with a pen and ink. Unlike Modern typefaces, the thick/thin transition is moderate and not so obvious. The serifs on Old Styles are always angled and if you draw a line though the thinnest parts of the letters, you’ll see that the stress is diagonal.”

Old Style typefaces are considered the best type for large bodies of texts, which is fitting for Dostoevsky’s The Idiot which is quite lengthy. Modern paperback editions of the novel, like the one edited by Constance Garnett and published by Vintage Classics measures about 656 pages and 243,020 words in total.