Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (1809–1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer known for his satirical and often surreal works. His most famous works include "Dead Souls," a novel that critiques the corruption of Russian society, and the short story "The Overcoat," which portrays the tragic life of a low-ranking bureaucrat. Gogol's writing often blends the grotesque with comedy, offering a vivid portrayal of Russian life and character. His influence on Russian literature is profound, and he is considered one of the great figures of 19th-century Russian literature.

Author's Books:


INTRODUCTION The Inspector-General is a national institution. To place a purely literary valuation upon it and call it the greatest of Russian comedies would not convey the significance of its position either in Russian literature or in Russian life itself. There is no other single work in the modern literature of any language that carries with it the wealth of associations which the Inspector-General... more...

CHAPTER I To the door of an inn in the provincial town of N. there drew up a smart britchka—a light spring-carriage of the sort affected by bachelors, retired lieutenant-colonels, staff-captains, land-owners possessed of about a hundred souls, and, in short, all persons who rank as gentlemen of the intermediate category. In the britchka was seated such a gentleman—a man who, though not handsome,... more...

CHAPTER I "Turn round, my boy! How ridiculous you look! What sort of a priest's cassock have you got on? Does everybody at the academy dress like that?" With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father. His sons had but just dismounted from their horses. They were a couple of... more...

From "Torrents of Spring." Translated by Constance Garnett. In one of the outlying streets of Moscow, in a gray house with white columns and a balcony, warped all askew, there was once living a lady, a widow, surrounded by a numerous household of serfs. Her sons were in the government service at Petersburg; her daughters were married; she went out very little, and in solitude lived through the... more...