Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is one of the most famous writers of the 19th century. During his short life, he managed to write a large number of outstanding works, many of which are now being studied at school. The top ten includes the most popular and best books by Gogol, the list of which is located below.

10 Sorochinskaya fair

"Sorochinskaya Yarmarka" opens a list of works belonging to the pen of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol and is part of the collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". The story takes place in the homeland of the prose writer. In the center of the plot is a young man named Gritsko, who falls in love with a beautiful girl named Khavronya. The main character wishes to marry her. The girl's father does not mind, but the stepmother refuses to give her stepdaughter for him, because he did not please her. Then Gritsko turns to a gypsy for help, who makes a plan of how to nevertheless gain the favor of his stepmother and arrange a wedding.

9 Portrait

"Portrait" - a work included in the cycle "Petersburg Tales". The main character of the story is the young man Chartkov, who is engaged in art. He is incredibly poor, he does not even have the money to pay for rental housing. Despite this, the artist buys a portrait depicting an old man with his last money. He attracts the young man by the fact that the eyes in the portrait seem to be alive. Strange dreams begin to haunt the young man at night, as if the old man comes out of the frame with a bag full of money. In a dream, Chartkov manages to snatch one bundle with 1000 ducats. In the morning, the young man wakes up and finds, in fact, this money. He moves to a prestigious area, rents expensive apartments and becomes a sought-after young artist with a large list of orders. Chartkov does not realize that this portrait is cursed and brings only misfortunes to its owner, which will soon touch upon this artist too.

8 Nevsky Prospect

"Nevsky Prospect" is included in the book "Petersburg Stories". Nikolai Vasilievich begins his story with an enthusiastic description of Nevsky Prospekt, which he considers one of the best places in St. Petersburg. It is here that any thoughtful observer can get a lot of impressions for himself. The main characters of the work are Pirogov and Piskarev, who get to know each other in this place while rushing after beautiful ladies. Gogol tells two stories of these at first sight completely different young people, whose hopes were not justified. The author draws an analogy between these heroes and brings the reader to the idea that, despite all their individuality, there is something that unites these men.

7 Overcoat

"The Overcoat" is a story included in the collected works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. In the work, the prose writer touches on the theme of the "little man". In the center of the book's plot is a titular adviser living in poverty named Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin. He was very responsible about his job, despite the fact that it was insignificant. On this occasion, jokes were made by young officials in the direction of Bashmachkin. Soon, Akaky notices that his old overcoat has fallen into disrepair and takes it to a tailor so that he can patch it up. But he refuses to do this, saying that you need to sew a new one. Bashmachkin begins to save money, infringing upon himself even in small things in order to raise money for a new overcoat. Having collected the required amount, he orders it for himself. The joy of the new thing was short-lived, as soon the adviser was robbed. He has no choice but to wear his old one. Soon the hero falls ill with a cold and dies.

6 May Night, or the Drowned Woman

"May Night, or the Drowned Woman" - Gogol's story, included in the book "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka." The work is based on the legends of not reposed souls who died innocently. The main character, a young lady who can no longer tolerate the bullying of her stepmother, rushes into the river to drown herself. After death, she turns into a beautiful mermaid. But even there, the stepmother does not want to give peace to the deceased stepdaughter. She also turns into a mermaid. The first is no choice but to seek help from people. In a dream, she comes to the young man Levko, who is the son of the head. He helps the unfortunate woman, and she, in return, arranges his personal life happily.

5 Evening on the eve of Ivan Kupala

“The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” is the Story of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, which, like many of his works, is filled with mysticism and folklore legends about evil spirits. This is the first story that opens a cycle of works united in the book Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. In the center of the plot is Petrus, whose fate is deeply unhappy. In this story, Gogol wants to convey to the reader that a person is the smith of his own happiness and in order to achieve his goal in no case should he turn to Satan for help.

4 The Night Before Christmas

"The Night Before Christmas" is one of the best works by Nikolai Vasilievich, included in the book "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". The main character, the blacksmith Vakula, is madly in love with the beautiful girl Oksana, who constantly makes fun of him. The young man wants to marry her, to which she gives him an overwhelming task. The young man must get for her the slippers worn by the queen. Vakula realizes that such a task is beyond his power and is going to turn to the devil for help. By coincidence, unclean power is at his fingertips. Together with the devil, he flies straight to the queen in St. Petersburg, where he asks the ruler for slivers for his bride. Meanwhile, there is a rumor in the village that Vakula committed suicide. Oksana punishes herself for this. But the young man returns healthy and unharmed with the promised gift.

3 Taras Bulba

Taras Bulba is one of the most famous books by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The story has been repeatedly filmed and gained immense popularity. The work is completely based on historical materials, as well as the parables of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The protagonist of the story is Taras Bulba, who is an example of what a true Cossack should be like. The book revolves around him and his two sons.

2 Notes of a Madman

"Notes of a Madman" is included in the collection "Petersburg Stories". In the center of the story, Gogol puts Poprishchina, who is the author of the notes. The main character is a petty official dissatisfied with his position and the fact that everyone is pushed around him. He is obsessed with the idea that he must find his own field, and keeps a diary in which he describes his whole life, and also sets out his thoughts. The main character gradually goes crazy, which is reflected in his notes.

1 Dead Souls

"Dead Souls" is the main creation of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's entire life. The book describes the journey of Mr. Chichikov across Russia with the aim of buying up "dead souls". While reading the novel, the reader will have to get acquainted with many characters, each of which has its own individual psychological portrait. The author shows all the ugliness of the souls of landowners, who in fact are people with dead souls, there is nothing human in them. Their only goal in life is profit.

Nikolai Gogol became an unsurpassed talent for nineteenth-century literature in Russia. From 1829 until his death, he wrote books. His works are unusual, as in them the fantastic is intertwined with the reality, which he showed without embellishment, without concealment. His heroes are generalized people who belonged to certain strata of modern Russian society. In his works, a generalized life of Russian cities is also given, of those customs that were instituted at that time.

The author and his works

Nikolai Gogol was put on a par with such famous authors as A. Pushkin and M. Lermontov when it comes to creating a new literary movement. Gogol described the everyday life of his people and his heroes so accurately and in such detail that many of his works are related to realism. Describing in detail those features that were inherent in landowners and officials, the writer not only generalizes and shows a person of a certain social system, but also creates a new literary image of a “businesslike” person or a cheat. The work of Nikolai Gogol formed the basis for the creation of a "natural school" in well-known literary circles, which included many outstanding writers: Turgenev, Dostoevsky and others.

But N. Gogol's image of people, nature, and social reality is not an accurate depiction of it, but nevertheless it undergoes a concrete rethinking by the writer and the embodiment of his artistic intentions. It is worth recalling the statement of the author when he speaks about his work "The Inspector General":

"I made up my mind to collect all the bad things in Russia ... all the injustices ... and laugh at everything at once."

The cities described by the author: Dikanka, Petersburg and Mirgorod are generalized images of Russia and Little Russia. He tried to show not only the national features of these geographical objects, but also the features characteristic of the entire earth in general. For example, Mirgorod is not just the name of a city located in the Poltava province, but it is an image-symbol of a world city. In Gogol's stories, he combined different aspects of a person's life: an ideal family life, military operations, the fight against unclean forces and boring everyday life.

The best Gogol works

Researchers of Gogol's creativity claim that Nikolai Gogol managed to create 68 works in his life. But, of course, he had much more ideas. When calculating literary critics, the second volume of the poem "Dead Souls", which the writer himself destroyed, was not taken into account. To date, the following works are considered the most famous and best:

★ "Dead Souls".
★ "Inspector".
★ “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”.
★ "Wii".
★ "The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich."
★ "Taras Bulba".
★ "Nose".
★ "Overcoat".
★ "Notes of a Madman".

These works make it possible to more vividly present Gogol's work and understand its stylistic and artistic features. Many literary scholars argue that Gogol's most striking work is his comedy The Inspector General. It is presented by the author in five acts. Gogol wrote his play the weather from autumn 1835 to January 1836. The protagonist of this work is a petty and nosy official who, arriving in a small provincial town, took advantage of the fact that he was mistaken for an inspector. Khlestakov, who is returning to St. Petersburg, drove into a city that he came across on the way and began to take bribes and gifts, staying free of charge with the mayor and eating with him.

The entire bureaucratic world of the town tried to serve him in everything. And only when the rogue and rogue Khlestakov leaves the city, the whole truth is revealed. And here is Gogol's silent scene, since a real inspector arrives and the reader must understand and think about what will happen now. It is known that the first theatrical performance, which took place in St. Petersburg, was not successful, but all subsequent ones, including those outside the country, were extremely successful. In his diary entries, the author of The Inspector General says that the idea of ​​writing this comedy was given to him by the disgraced poet Pushkin.

The poem "Dead Souls" is rightfully considered a genius Gogol's work. This deep in content book was conceived by the author as a work consisting of three parts. But only the first volume was published. This happened in 1842. But if the third volume was never written, then the second volume was created and burned. The plot of this work was also suggested to the author by A. Pushkin. The plot is based on the adventures of Chichikov, who had the lowest bureaucratic rank - a collegiate collector. He planned to buy up lists of dead peasants, whose death had not yet been registered, in the city N, far from the capital. He needed this to improve his position in society and get a loan. He gets acquainted with representatives of the local nobility, visiting their estates.

But Chichikov's deal ended in failure, as he was arrested and barely escaped trial. But in Gogol's poem, some landowners attract attention, who become bright and colorful in Russian literature:

➥ Manilov, sweet, useless, empty dreamer.
➥ Box, petty and greedy.
➥ Sobakevich, a philistine who is only interested in material wealth.
➥ Plyushkin, greedy, suspicious.

The souls of these heroes are dead and empty. Many theatrical performances have been made based on this work. His story "Taras Bulba" is called the most serious Gogol's work. In it, the author shows how steadfastly and courageously the Ukrainian people fought against the Turks and Tatars. The main scenes in Gogol's story are devoted to battles, they are grandiose and historically. But the personalities of the Zaporozhye Cossacks are hyperbolic. They are like epic heroes. To write this story, Gogol studied many historical and folk sources.

Mystical and fantastic events take place in the magnificent work "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka". This book came out in two volumes, each of which contained four stories. He achieves the unusual in his work: he connects the past and the present, the fairy tale and the reality, the historical and the spiritual. In this Gogol's work, people and evil spirits live side by side. There has never been such a work in Russian literature.

Gogol's creative legacy

But besides the main and popular works, the famous author left other literary monuments. Let's dwell a little on them. So, the following dramatic works by Nikolai Gogol are widely known:

✔ Marriage.
✔ Players.
✔ Business person's morning.
✔ Litigation.
✔ Lackey.
✔ Theatrical patrol after the presentation of a new comedy.

But especially a lot was created by the author in journalism, where the author could accurately and definitely express his opinion. Unfortunately, not all readers are familiar with Gogol's journalistic works. But they do exist, and many writers refer to them. For a complete understanding of the works of the original writer Gogol, it is worth reading and knowing the following some publicistic works:

♦ Woman.
♦ "Boris Godunov", a poem by Pushkin.
♦ About Kozlov's poetry.
♦ A few words about Pushkin.
♦ About the movement of peoples at the end of the 5th century.

There are also references to those works that relate to the non-extant Gogol literature. Some of them left large or small passages:

⇒ Rome.
⇒ Terrible hand.
⇒ What is this?

Particularly noteworthy are works that cannot be identified by genre:

Italy.
"Arabesque".
Gogol in music and cinema.

Stylistic features of Nikolai Gogol's works

He began his literary work as a romantic, but very quickly departed from him and moved on to realism. The writer developed under the influence of Pushkin and his freedom-loving ideas. The originality of Gogol's works lies in the fact that he was the first to depict the life of Russian landowners and officials, to create the image of a “little man”. Gogol is an excellent satirist who successfully denounced all the vices of modern society.

The compositions of Gogol's works are also interesting. They are not based on love affairs or family conflicts, but on the events of the whole country, which are of public importance. Hence such deep images that were typical for all of Russia. Most often in his works he uses hyperbole to make the image he created more vivid. He also uses hyperbola when describing details: things. Premises, clothes. The author needs the Gogol landscape to give a more accurate characterization of the characters. The author's speech is different: enthusiastic, conversational. He also uses common speech and dialectisms.

The features of the construction of the text can be called:

✚ Using large complex sentences with different communication ids.
✚ Lyric monologues.
✚ Lots of emotional sentences that use question marks and exclamation marks.
✚ A huge number of epithets.
✚ Gogol's humor is also unusual: “laughter through tears”.

Critics about the works of Gogol

Belinsky noted the simplicity, fiction and nationality of Gogol's works. In his works, the critic believed, along with the comic, there is a feeling of despondency and sadness. And this is the result of the fact that Gogol's depiction of life is real. In addition, as Belinsky argued, the author introduces each Gogol character as follows. As if you have known him for a long time. Nikolai Gogol may interest the reader with the most insignificant details.

The writer understands the insignificance of his characters, and therefore makes fun of them. Belinsky says that Gogol is both a genius and a versatile person

The life of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is so vast and multifaceted that historians are still researching the biography and epistolary materials of the great writer, and documentary filmmakers shoot films that tell about the secrets of the mysterious genius of literature. Interest in the playwright has not faded for two hundred years, not only because of his lyric-epic works, but also because Gogol is one of the most mystical figures in Russian literature of the 19th century.

Childhood and youth

To this day, it is not known when Nikolai Vasilyevich was born. Some chroniclers believe that Gogol was born on March 20, while others are sure that the true date of birth of the writer is April 1, 1809.

The childhood of the master of phantasmagoria passed in Ukraine, in the picturesque village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province. He grew up in a large family - in addition to him, 5 more boys and 6 girls were brought up in the house (some of them died in infancy).

The great writer has an interesting pedigree, dating back to the Cossack noble dynasty of Gogol-Yanovsky. According to the family legend, the playwright's grandfather Afanasy Demyanovich Yanovsky added the second part to his surname to prove his blood ties with the Cossack hetman Ostap Gogol, who lived in the 17th century.

The writer's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, worked in the Malorossiysk province in the post office, from where he retired in 1805 with the rank of collegiate assessor. Later, Gogol-Yanovsky retired to the Vasilyevka estate (Yanovshchina) and began to engage in farming. Vasily Afanasyevich was known as a poet, writer and playwright: he owned the home theater of his friend Troshchinsky, and also acted on the stage as an actor.

For the performances, he wrote comedy plays based on Ukrainian folk ballads and legends. But only one work of Gogol the elder has reached modern readers - "The Simpleton, or the Cunning of a Woman Outwitted by a Soldier." It was from his father that Nikolai Vasilyevich took over his love of literary art and creative talent: it is known that Gogol Jr. began writing poetry from childhood. Vasily Afanasyevich died when Nikolai was 15 years old.

The writer's mother, Maria Ivanovna, nee Kosyarovskaya, according to the stories of contemporaries, was pretty and was considered the first beauty in the village. Everyone who knew her used to say that she was a religious person and was engaged in the spiritual education of children. However, the teachings of Gogol-Yanovskaya were not reduced to Christian rituals and prayers, but to prophecies about the Last Judgment.

It is known that a woman married Gogol-Yanovsky when she was 14 years old. Nikolai Vasilievich was close to his mother and even asked for advice on his manuscripts. Some writers believe that thanks to Maria Ivanovna, Gogol's work is endowed with fantasy and mysticism.

The childhood and youth of Nikolai Vasilyevich were surrounded by peasant and landlord life and were endowed with those philistine features that the playwright scrupulously described in his works.

When Nikolai was ten years old, he was sent to Poltava, where he studied science at a school, and then learned to read and write from a local teacher Gabriel Sorochinsky. After classical training, the 16-year-old boy became a student at the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in the city of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. In addition to the fact that the future classic of literature was in poor health, he was still not strong in his studies, although he had an exceptional memory. Nikolai's relationship with the exact sciences did not work out, but he succeeded in Russian literature and literature.

Some biographers argue that the gymnasium itself is to blame for such an inadequate education, rather than the young writer. The fact is that in those years, weak teachers worked at the Nizhyn gymnasium, who could not organize decent education for students. For example, knowledge in the lessons of moral education was presented not through the teachings of eminent philosophers, but with the help of corporal punishment with a rod, the teacher of literature did not keep pace with the times, preferring the classics of the 18th century.

During his studies, Gogol gravitated towards creativity and zealously participated in theatrical performances and improvised scenes. Among his comrades, Nikolai Vasilyevich was known as a comedian and a perky person. The writer communicated with Nikolai Prokopovich, Alexander Danilevsky, Nestor Kukolnik and others.

Literature

Gogol began to take an interest in writing during his student years. He admired A.S. Pushkin, although his first creations were far from the style of the great poet, but looked more like the works of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.

He composed elegies, feuilletons, poems, tried himself in prose and other literary genres. During his studies, he wrote a satire "Something about Nezhin, or the Law Is Not Written to Fools", which has not survived to this day. It is noteworthy that the young man initially regarded the craving for creativity as a hobby rather than a lifelong business.

For Gogol, writing was "a ray of light in the dark kingdom" and helped to distract himself from mental anguish. Then the plans of Nikolai Vasilyevich were not clear, but he wanted to serve the Motherland and be useful to the people, believing that a great future awaited him.

In the winter of 1828, Gogol went to the cultural capital - Petersburg. In the cold and gloomy city, Nikolai Vasilyevich was disappointed. He tried to become an official, and also tried to enter the service in the theater, but all his attempts were defeated. Only in literature could he find opportunities for earnings and self-expression.

But in the writing of Nikolai Vasilyevich a failure awaited, as the magazines published only two works of Gogol - the poem "Italy" and the romantic poem "Ganz Kuchelgarten", published under the pseudonym V. Alov. "Idyll in Pictures" received a number of negative and sarcastic reviews from critics. After the creative defeat, Gogol bought all the editions of the poem and burned them in his room. Nikolai Vasilievich did not give up literature even after a loud failure, the failure with "Gantz Küchelgarten" gave him the opportunity to change the genre.

In 1830, the eminent journal Otechestvennye Zapiski published the mystical story of Gogol, The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala.

Later, the writer met Baron Delvig and began to publish in his editions "Literaturnaya Gazeta" and "Northern Flowers".

After his creative success, Gogol was warmly received in the literary circle. He began to communicate with Pushkin and. The works "Evenings on a Farm near Dykanka", "The Night Before Christmas", "The Enchanted Place", seasoned with a mixture of Ukrainian epic and everyday humor, made an impression on the Russian poet.

Rumor has it that it was Alexander Sergeevich who gave Nikolai Vasilievich the background for new works. He suggested ideas for the plots of the poem "Dead Souls" (1842) and the comedy "The Inspector General" (1836). However, P.V. Annenkov believes that Pushkin "not quite willingly ceded his property to him."

Fascinated by the history of Little Russia, Nikolai Vasilyevich became the author of the collection Mirgorod, which includes several works, including Taras Bulba. Gogol, in letters to his mother, Maria Ivanovna, asked that she tell in more detail about the life of the people in the outback.

Still from the film "Viy", 2014

In 1835 Gogol's story "Viy" (included in "Mirgorod") about the demonic character of the Russian epic was published. According to the plot, three students lost their way and came across a mysterious farm, the owner of which was a real witch. The main character, Homa, will have to face unprecedented creatures, church rites and a witch flying in a coffin.

In 1967, directors Konstantin Ershov and Georgy Kropachev directed the first Soviet horror film based on Gogol's story Viy. The main roles were played by and.

Leonid Kuravlev and Natalya Varley in the film "Viy", 1967

In 1841, Gogol wrote the immortal story "The Overcoat". In the work, Nikolai Vasilyevich tells about the "little man" Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, who becomes poorer to such an extent that the most common thing becomes a source of joy and inspiration for him.

Personal life

Speaking about the personality of the author of The Inspector General, it is worth noting that from Vasily Afanasyevich, in addition to craving for literature, he also inherited a fateful fate - a psychological illness and fear of early death, which the playwright began to manifest from his youth. The publicist V.G. Korolenko and Dr. Bazhenov, based on Gogol's autobiographical materials and epistolary heritage.

If in the days of the Soviet Union it was customary to keep silent about the mental disorders of Nikolai Vasilyevich, then the current erudite reader is very interested in such details. It is believed that since childhood, Gogol suffered from manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar affective personality disorder): the cheerful and perky mood of the young writer was replaced by severe depression, hypochondria and despair.

This disturbed his mind until his death. He also admitted in letters that he often heard "gloomy" voices calling him into the distance. Because of his life in eternal fear, Gogol became a religious person and led a more reclusive ascetic lifestyle. He loved women, but only at a distance: he often used to say to Maria Ivanovna that he was going abroad to see a certain lady.

He corresponded with lovely girls of different classes (with Maria Balabina, Countess Anna Vielgorskaya and others), courting them romantically and timidly. The writer did not like to advertise his personal life, especially amorous affairs. It is known that Nikolai Vasilyevich has no children. Due to the fact that the writer was not married, there is a theory about his homosexuality. Others believe that he has never had a relationship that went beyond the platonic one.

Death

The early death of Nikolai Vasilyevich at the age of 42 still excites the minds of scientists, historians and biographers. Mystical legends are written about Gogol, and they argue about the true reason for the visionary's death to this day.

In the last years of his life, Nikolai Vasilievich was overcome by a creative crisis. It was associated with the early death of Khomyakov's wife and the condemnation of his stories by Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, who harshly criticized Gogol's works and, moreover, believed that the writer was not pious enough. Gloomy thoughts took possession of the mind of the playwright, from February 5, he refused food. On February 10, Nikolai Vasilyevich “under the influence of an evil spirit” burned the manuscripts, and on the 18th, continuing to observe Great Lent, he went to bed with a sharp deterioration in his health.

The pen master refused medical attention, awaiting death. The doctors, who diagnosed him with inflammatory bowel diseases, probable typhus and indigestion, eventually diagnosed the writer with meningitis and prescribed forced bloodletting, which was dangerous for his health, which only worsened the mental and physical condition of Nikolai Vasilyevich. On the morning of February 21, 1852, Gogol died in the count's mansion in Moscow.

Memory

The writer's works are obligatory for study in schools and higher educational institutions. In memory of Nikolai Vasilievich, postage stamps were issued in the USSR and other countries. Streets, a drama theater, a pedagogical institute and even a crater on the planet Mercury are named after Gogol.

Theatrical performances and works of cinematic art are still being created based on the creations of the master of hyperbole and grotesque. So, in 2017, the Russian viewer will see the premiere of the gothic detective series “Gogol. Beginning ”with and starring.

There are interesting facts in the biography of the mysterious playwright, all of them cannot be described even in a whole book.

• According to rumors, Gogol was afraid of a thunderstorm, since a natural phenomenon affected his psyche.
• The writer lived in poverty and wore old clothes. The only expensive item in his wardrobe is a gold watch presented by Zhukovsky in memory of Pushkin.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich's mother was known as a strange woman. She was superstitious, believed in the supernatural, and constantly told amazing stories, embellished with fiction.
• According to rumors, Gogol's last words were: "How sweet it is to die."

Monument to Nikolai Gogol and his bird-troika in Odessa

• Gogol's work was inspiring.
• Nikolai Vasilyevich loved sweets, so sweets and sugar cubes were always in his pocket. Also, the Russian prose writer liked to roll bread crumbs in his hands - this helped to concentrate on thoughts.
• The writer was painful about his appearance, mainly his own nose irritated him.
• Gogol was afraid that he would be buried in a lethargic sleep. The literary genius asked that in the future his body be buried only after the appearance of cadaveric spots. According to legend, Gogol woke up in a coffin. When the body of the writer was reburied, the surprised audience saw that the head of the deceased was turned to one side.

Bibliography

• "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" (1831-1832)
• "The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich" (1834)
• Viy (1835)
• "Old World Landowners" (1835)
• Taras Bulba (1835)
• "Nevsky Prospect" (1835)
• The Inspector General (1836)
• The Nose (1836)
• "Diary of a Madman" (1835)
• "Portrait" (1835)
• "Carriage" (1836)
• The Marriage (1842)
• Dead Souls (1842)
• The Overcoat (1843)

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol-Yanovsky; Russian Empire, Poltava province; 03.20.1809 - 02.21.1852

The great Russian prose writer and playwright Nikolai Gogol earned recognition during his lifetime. But the stories and stories of NV Gogol are still very popular today. Many of his works have been filmed, and the name of this writer has become a landmark for Russian and world literature. The best proof of this is the author's high place in our rating, where NV Gogol is in the top twenty.

Biography of N. V. Gogol

Nikolai Gogol-Yanovsky was born in the village of Bolshiye Sorochintsy, Poltava province. Subsequently, he will discard the second part of his surname, although it was under this surname that his great-grandfather lived. The great-grandfather changed his last name after accepting Russian citizenship. The Gogol family had 11 children, but only five of them survived to adulthood. Nikolai himself was the third child, but of the survivors, the first. Thanks to this, he best remembered his father, who wrote small plays for home productions, and was generally a wonderful storyteller. In part, it was he who instilled in NV Gogol his first love for the theater.

At the age of ten, Nikolai was sent to study in Poltava. First, he takes preparatory courses with one of the local teachers, and then enters the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences. Since this educational institution was just formed, the educational process was not very well established, perhaps this was the reason for Gogol's low academic performance. But at the same time, having created circles of like-minded people, the students were engaged in self-education and even organized their own magazine. It was during self-education that Nikolai Gogol fell in love with creativity, which subsequently played a significant role in his works.

After graduating from high school at the age of nineteen, Nikolai Gogol moved to St. Petersburg. His modest savings are not enough to live in a big city, and he is forced to look for a job, now an actor, now a civil servant, but he does not stay long at one of them. At the same time, in 1829, NV Gogol's first poem, "Ganz Küchelgarten", was published. She does not receive recognition that for a long time inspires the writer to be distrustful of her abilities. Nevertheless, the writer did not stop in his endeavors and a year later he published "Evenings on the Eve of Ivan Bathing", which was perceived more positively.

In 1830, thanks to his friends, NV Gogol managed to find a job as a teacher, first at the Patriotic Institute, and then at the Department of History at St. Petersburg University. This significantly improved the financial affairs of the author and allowed him to plunge headlong into literature. It was during this period that the publication of NV Gogol's novellas "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka", "The Night Before Christmas", which is still popular today, were published. This brings the author fame and allows him to become one of the leading writers of Russia at that time. From 1834 to 1842 such famous works of NV Gogol as "Taras Bulba", "The Inspector General", "Dead Souls" and many others were published.

Since 1836, Gogol has been spending a lot of time abroad. His second "homeland" becomes Rome, which the author himself called "a city in spirit." At the same time, the writer becomes an increasingly religious person and travels to the Holy Sepulcher. But, according to the author himself, when he got caught in the rain in Palestine, he felt like a station in Russia. Therefore, this trip to Gogol did not bring peace of mind. Upon his return in 1949, he worked a lot on the second volume of Dead Souls, but before his death he destroyed them.

Gogol was buried in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery, but later the remains were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. In 1952, the pedestal of the monument was changed, and "Golgotha", which previously served as a monument to Gogol, was later acquired by his wife as a monument to her husband. After all, it was the story of NV Gogol that Bulgakov considered a model for his work.

Works of NV Gogol on the site Top books

In the ratings of our site, the stories of NV Gogol are presented quite widely. Many of them are in our rating and occupy far from the lowest positions there. At the same time, the popularity of the comedies NV Gogol "The Inspector General", "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka", "The Night Before Christmas" is so great that it allowed these and some other works of NV Gogol to get into our rating. At the same time, many of them occupy rather high places in this rating and have every chance to strengthen their positions.

All the books of N.V. Gogol

1. Author's confession
2. Al-Mamun
3. Alfred
4. Annunziata
5. Articles from Arabesque
6. The evening before Ivan Kupala
7. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
8. A look at the compilation of Little Russia
9. Vladimir third degree
10. Ganz Kuchelgarten
11. Getman
12. Maidens Chablova
13. The rain was long ...
14. Marriage

Born on March 20 (April 1), 1809 in the village of Sorochintsy, Poltava province, in the family of a landowner. Gogol was the third child, and there were 12 children in the family.

Training in the biography of Gogol took place at the Poltava School. Then in 1821 he entered the class of the Nizhyn gymnasium, where he studied justice. During his school years, the writer did not differ in special abilities in his studies. Only drawing lessons and the study of Russian literature were good for him. He could write only mediocre works.

The beginning of the literary path

In 1828, in the life of Gogol, there was a move to St. Petersburg. There he served as an official, tried to get a job in the theater as an actor and studied literature. The acting career did not go well, and the service did not bring pleasure to Gogol, and sometimes even burdened him. And the writer decided to prove himself in the literary field.

In 1831, Gogol met with representatives of the literary circles of Zhukovsky and Pushkin, undoubtedly these acquaintances strongly influenced his future fate and literary activity.

Gogol and theater

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's interest in the theater manifested itself in his youth, after the death of his father, a wonderful playwright and storyteller.

Realizing the full power of the theater, Gogol took up drama. Gogol's work "The Inspector General" was written in 1835 and staged for the first time in 1836. Due to the negative reaction of the public to the production of The Inspector General, the writer leaves the country.

last years of life

In 1836, in the biography of Nikolai Gogol, he traveled to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, as well as a short stay in Paris. Then, from March 1837, work continued in Rome on the first volume of Gogol's greatest work "Dead Souls", which was conceived by the author back in St. Petersburg. After returning home from Rome, the writer publishes the first volume of the poem. While working on the second volume, Gogol suffered a spiritual crisis. Even a trip to Jerusalem did not help to rectify the situation.

At the beginning of 1843, Gogol's famous story "The Overcoat" was first published.

Chronological table

Other biography options

• The writer was fond of mysticism and religion. The most mysterious work of Gogol is the story "Viy", created, according to the author himself, on the basis of Ukrainian folk legends. However, literary scholars and historians still cannot find evidence of this, which indicates the exclusive authorship of the mystifier writer.
• It is also believed that a few days before his death, the great writer burned the second volume of Dead Souls. Some scientists consider this to be an unreliable fact, but no one will ever know the truth.
• It is still not known for certain exactly how the writer died. One of the main versions says that Gogol was buried alive. The proof of this was the change in the position of his body during the reburial.
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