Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol – mystic, satirist, prophet of life and genius.

April 1, 2024 marks the 215th anniversary of his birth (1809-1852).

His most famous works are “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “Dead Souls”, “Viy”, “Taras Bulba”, “The Government Inspector”, “The Nose”, “The Overcoat”.

Interesting facts about the writer’s life:

· It was Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin who suggested plots for the play “The Government Inspector” and the novel “Dead Souls” to Gogol.

· One of his most famous works “Dead Souls” actually had a sequel. However, it was not published – Gogol himself destroyed the final version of the second volume.

· “Viy” was adapted for the screen many times. The author insisted that the story is based on a folklore legend, but the researchers were not able to find any folk tale of the same plot as “Viy”.

· Gogol was fond of books; he had a huge collection of miniature editions.

· Despite his reserved attitude, the writer was a great storyteller and reciter.

· His favorite drink was goat milk to which he added rum. He called the drink a gogol-mogol.

· Gogol enjoyed handmade very much. He knitted scarves, snipped out dresses for his sisters, sewed neckties for himself to wear in summer.

· While writing, he kept rolling pellets of bread. It helped him to solve important questions.

· All his life Nikolai Vasilyevich was insecure about his nose, thinking it was ugly. He even told the painters who created his portraits to change its shape and make it look prettier.

· People admired Gogol’s phenomenal memory. He could easily remember huge amounts of information and never forgot anything.

· Nikolai Vasilyevich had a lot of quirks. For example, he only walked on the left side of roads and pavements, which caused difficulties for both him and other passers-by.

· He also had a habit to nibble at pieces of sugar while working; he always carried some with him.

· The writer was a great cook, he was especially good at pelmeni, pierogi and halušky (different kinds of dumplings)

· Gogol had fear of thunder and lightning. He did not panic, but he felt uncomfortable in this kind of weather.

· Another fear of his was to be buried alive. He even wrote an instruction according to which in case of his death, he must be buried only after making 100% sure he was dead.

· There is an asteroid (2361) named after Gogol. It was discovered in 1976 by soviet astronauts.

Today we suggest you to check out some of the author’s masterpieces:

“Dead Souls” is a novel about Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, an adventurer who decides to carry out a bizarre get rich quick scheme by acquiring “dead souls”. The novel depicts Russian provincial life in XIX century.

Gogol, N. V. Dead Souls: book to read in English language / Gogol N.V. – St. Petersburg : KARO, 2017. - 352 p. - (Russian classical literature in foreign languages). - URL: https://www.studentlibrary.ru/book/ISBN9785992512533.html

A collection of short stories from the author’s Ukrainian period – “May Night, or the Drowned Maiden”, “Viy” and from his Petersburg period – “The Nose”, “The Overcoat”, “Diary of a Madman”. These works depict two worlds – the colorful beauty of the Ukrainian village and the dark and mysterious city life of St. Petersburg. Gogol describes them with brilliant sense of humor and deep sadness at the same time.

Gogol, N. V. The Overcoat and Other Stories / Гоголь Н. В. Gogol N.V. – St. Petersburg : KARO, 2014. - 256 p. - (Russian classical literature in foreign languages). - URL : https://www.studentlibrary.ru/book/ISBN9785992509748.html

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