The Overcoat

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809-1852) was born in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi in the Mirhorod district of the Poltava province, in the family of a landowner. In addition to him, there were six other children in the family. Gogol's father, Vasily Afanasyevich, had some literary talent - he wrote several comedies in Ukrainian. He died when Nikolai Gogol was 15 years old. Gogol's mother was a sensitive and religious woman, hence Gogol's own religiosity.
Nikolai Gogol graduated from the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in Nezhin in 1828. The future writer dreams of a legal career, but after starting work in the department, he becomes disillusioned. In 1829, he takes his first steps in literature - he publishes the poem "Hans Kuchengarten" under the name V. Alov, but after mocking reviews, he burns it. Following this, he publishes the story "An Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala," and then "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka" and becomes famous. At this time, Gogol meets Pushkin, who suggests the plot of "The Government Inspector." The premiere of the play took place in the spring of 1835 in Moscow, at the Maly Theatre.
Gogol goes to Germany, and then to Switzerland, where he begins writing "Dead Souls." Abroad, he learns about the death of Pushkin, who had hinted at the plot of "Dead Souls," and he perceives the writing of this novel with bitterness as the poet's testament. After the publication of the first volume of "Dead Souls," Gogol goes abroad again and begins to work on the second volume, but he shows signs of a mental crisis. The writer returns to Moscow and, continuing to work on the novel, falls into depression and burns the manuscript. Only five chapters remained, which were published after the writer's death.
Nikolai Gogol died in 1852 in Moscow and was buried at the Danilov Monastery. In 1931, his remains were transferred to the Novodevichy Cemetery.
In addition to the aforementioned works, Gogol wrote "The Sorochyntsi Fair," "The Portrait," "The Nose," "Notes of a Madman," "A Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich," and others.