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Gogol's 1842 novel Dead Souls, a comic masterpiece about a mysterious con man and his grotesque victims, is one of the major works of Russian literature. It was translated into English in 1942 by Bernard Guilbert Guerney; the translation was hailed by Vladimir Nabokov... Read Full Overview

One of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy

A stranger arrives in a Russian backwater community with a bizarre proposition for the local landowners: cash for their "dead souls," the serfs who have died in their service and for whom they must continue to pay taxes until the next census. The landowner receives a payment... Read Full Overview

"Backgrounds" contains not only Gogol's correspondence relevant to the novel but also the four formal letters that set forth his views on the work. The editor has also included a useful chronology of Gogol's life and an invaluable table of ranks in czarist Russia. A wide range... Read Full Overview

Dead Souls is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The purpose of the novel was to demonstrate the flaws and faults of the Russian mentality and character. Gogol masterfully portrayed those defects... Read Full Overview

Gogol's tale of a dismissed civil servant turned unscrupulous confidence man is the most essentially Russian of all the great novels in Russian literature. With its rich and ebullient language, ironic twists, and cast of comedic characters, Dead Souls (1842) stands as one of... Read Full Overview

First published in 1842, "Dead Souls" is the story of Chichikov, a young middle-class gentleman who comes to a small town in Russia with a dubious plan to improve his wealth and position in life. He begins by spending beyond his means on the premise that he can impress the... Read Full Overview

Dead Souls charts the nefarious dealings of Chichikov, a member of the middle aristocracy in a time when serfs were considered the property of landowners, who could buy, sell, or mortgage them. Chichikov concocts a scheme to purchase ownership of deceased male serfs in order... Read Full Overview

"Backgrounds" contains not only Gogol's correspondence relevant to the novel but also the four formal letters that set forth his views on the work.

The editor has also included a useful chronology of Gogol's life and an invaluable table of ranks in czarist Russia.

A... Read Full Overview

&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RDead Souls&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RNikolai Gogol&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship,... Read Full Overview