Classic short story. According to Wikipedia: "Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol ( 1809 - 1852) was a Russian writer of Ukrainian ethnicity. Although his early works were heavily influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing and identity, he wrote in Russian and his works belong to the tradition of Russian literature; often called the "father of modern Russian realism," he was one of the first Russian authors to criticize his country's way of life. The novels Taras Bul'ba (1835; 1842 [revised edition]), D...

Dead Souls is Nikolai Gogol's last novel, and follows the tale of Pavel Chichikov, a down-on-his-luck gentleman determined to improve his lot in life. The story charts his scheme to purchase dead souls-the titles of deceased serfs-from wealthy landowners.The novel's satirical take on the state of Russian society at the time leads Chichikov into increasingly difficult circumstances, in his attempts to cheat both the system and the cavalcade of townspeople he meets along the...

Nikolai Gogol spent most of his literary career writing short stories, drawing inspiration from his childhood in Ukraine and his adult life in St. Petersburg. His stories are filled with larger than life yet relatable characters and perfectly described locations, and span many genres from historical epics to early horror and surrealism.His influence on Russian literature cannot be understated: Fyodor Dostoevsky is quoted as saying "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat,' " (presen...

First published in the year 1842, Russian writer-activist Nikolai Gogol's book 'Dead Souls' was one of the most appreciated satirical works of the 19th century Russian literature. The purpose of the novel was to demonstrate the flaws and faults of the Russian mentality and character.

Nikolai Vasilievitch Gogol, the Molière of Russia, was born in the sunny Ukraine in March, 1809, and died in Moscow forty-three years later. The author of Russia's famous national comedy, "The Inspector-General," Gogol was the first dramatist of his country to write plays on the Western European model, even as his friend Pushkin was the first Russian poet to introduce the Western strain into the literature of his people. In the comedy "Marriage," which Gogol began in 1832 as "The Wooers" a...

Since its publication in 1842, Dead Souls has been celebrated as a supremely realistic portrait of provincial Russian life and as a splendidly exaggerated tale; as a paean to the Russian spirit and as a remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity, and pomp. As Gogol's wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for "dead souls"--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast o...

A sorcerer. Nightmares. Secrets. Not the usual components of a love story but Nikolai Gogol's short horror story follows the love story of Danilo and Katerina as they deal with the presence of an evil sorcerer. When it transpires that the sorcerer is much closer to them than either of them thought, one question remains. Will they be able to defeat the sorcerer and his powers? This gothic tale maps incarnations of evil in everyday life and was one of Gogol's most successful works, even bein...

Called “the greatest play written in Russian” by Vladimir Nabokov, Nikolai Gogol’s immortal comedy is a pitch-perfect satire of social corruption. Now, renowned American playwright Richard Nelson and the foremost contemporary translators of classic Russian literature Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, collaborate on a revelatory new translation of Gogol’s biting masterpiece. With an introduction and text notes by Richard Pevear, this essential edition marks the first in a series of tr...

'Strangely enough, I mistook it for a gentleman at first. Fortunately I had my spectacles with me so I could see it was really a nose.'With this pair of absurd, comic stories Gogol indulges his imagination and delights readers.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride ove...

Written in the 1830s and early 1840s, these comic stories tackle life behind the cold and elegant façade of the Imperial capital from the viewpoints of various characters, such as a collegiate assessor who one day finds that his nose has detached itself from his face and risen the ranks to become a state councillor (‘The Nose’), a painter and a lieutenant whose romantic pursuits meet with contrasting degrees of success (‘Nevsky Prospect’) and a lowly civil servant whose existence desperate...

Dead Souls has been celebrated as a supremely realistic portrait of provincial Russian life and as a splendidly exaggerated tale; as a paean to the Russian spirit and as a remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity, and pomp. As Gogol's wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for "dead souls"--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast of peasants, landowners, and con...

Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in the provincial town of 'N', visiting a succession of landowners and making each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these 'souls' as collateral to re-invent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above...