Nikolai Vasilievici Gogol, Russian writer, Biography

Among his best known works are: The novels Taras Bul'ba (1835) and Dead Souls (1842), the play The Inspector-General (1836, 1842), and the short stories Diary of a Madman, The Nose and The Overcoat (1842). With their scrupulous and scathing realism, ethical criticism as well as philosophical depth, they remain some of the most important works of world literature.