“To be in the world and not have anything to indicate your existence - it seems terrible to me.” N.V. Gogol.

Genius of classical literature

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is known to the world as a writer, poet, playwright, publicist and critic. A man of remarkable talent and an amazing master of words, he is famous both in Ukraine, where he was born, and in Russia, to which he eventually moved.

Gogol is especially known for his mystical heritage. His stories, written in a unique Ukrainian language, which is not literary in the full sense of the word, convey the depth and beauty of Ukrainian speech, known throughout the world. Viy gave Gogol his greatest popularity. What other works did Gogol write? We will look at the list of works below. These are sensational stories, often mystical, and stories from the school curriculum, and little-known works of the author.

List of works by the writer

In total, Gogol wrote more than 30 works. He continued to complete some of them, despite publication. Many of his creations had several variations, including Taras Bulba and Viy. Having published the story, Gogol continued to reflect on it, sometimes adding or changing the ending. Often his stories have several endings. So, next we will consider the most famous works of Gogol. The list is in front of you:

1. "Hanz Küchelgarten" (1827-1829, under the pseudonym A. Alov).
2. “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” (1831), part 1 (“Sorochinskaya Fair”, “Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, “Drowned Man”, “Missing Letter”). Its second part was published a year later. It included the following stories: “The Night Before Christmas”, “Terrible Revenge”, “Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and His Aunt”, “Enchanted Place”.
3. "Mirgorod" (1835). Its edition was divided into 2 parts. The first part included the stories “Taras Bulba” and “Old World Landowners”. The second part, completed in 1839-1841, included “Viy” and “The Story of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.”
4. "The Nose" (1841-1842).
5. "Morning of a business man." It was written, like the comedies “Litigation”, “Excerpt” and “Lackey”, in the period from 1832 to 1841.
6. "Portrait" (1842).
7. “Notes of a Madman” and “Nevsky Prospekt” (1834-1835).
8. "The Inspector General" (1835).
9. The play "Marriage" (1841).
10. "Dead Souls" (1835-1841).
11. Comedies "The Players" and "Theatrical Tour after the Presentation of a New Comedy" (1836-1841).
12. "The Overcoat" (1839-1841).
13. "Rome" (1842).

These are published works that Gogol wrote. The works (list by year, more precisely) indicate that the heyday of the writer’s talent occurred in 1835-1841. Now let’s take a little look at reviews of Gogol’s most famous stories.

"Viy" - Gogol's most mystical creation

The story of “Viy” tells about the recently deceased lady, the centurion’s daughter, who, as the whole village knew, was a witch. The centurion, at the request of his beloved daughter, makes the funeral student Khoma Brut read over her. The witch, who died due to Khoma’s fault, dreams of revenge...

Reviews of the work “Viy” are complete praise for the writer and his talent. It is impossible to discuss the list of Nikolai Gogol’s works without mentioning everyone’s favorite “Viy”. Readers note bright characters, original, unique, with their own characters and habits. All of them are typical Ukrainians, cheerful and optimistic people, rude but kind. It is impossible not to appreciate Gogol's subtle irony and humor.

The writer’s unique style and his ability to play on contrasts are also highlighted. During the day, the peasants walk and have fun, Khoma also drinks so as not to think about the horror of the coming night. With the arrival of evening, a gloomy, mystical silence sets in - and Khoma again enters the circle outlined in chalk...

A very short story keeps you in suspense until the last pages. Below are stills from the 1967 film of the same name.

Satirical comedy "The Nose"

“The Nose” is an amazing story, written in such a satirical form that at first it seems fantastically absurd. According to the plot, Platon Kovalev, a public person prone to narcissism, wakes up in the morning without a nose - his place is empty. In a panic, Kovalev begins to look for his lost nose, because without it you won’t even appear in decent society!

Readers easily saw the prototype of Russian (and not only!) society. Gogol's stories, despite the fact that they were written in the 19th century, do not lose their relevance. Gogol, whose list of works can mostly be divided into mysticism and satire, had a very keen sense of modern society, which has not changed at all over the past time. Rank and external polish are still held in high esteem, but no one is interested in the inner content of a person. It is Plato’s nose, with an outer shell, but without internal content, that becomes the prototype of a richly dressed man, intelligently thinking, but soulless.

"Taras Bulba"

"Taras Bulba" is a great creation. When describing Gogol's works, the most famous, the list of which is provided above, one cannot fail to mention this story. The plot centers on two brothers, Andrei and Ostap, as well as their father, Taras Bulba himself, a strong, courageous and extremely principled man.

Readers especially highlight the small details of the story, which the author focused on, which enliven the picture and make those distant times closer and understandable. The writer spent a long time studying the details of everyday life of that era, so that readers could more vividly and vividly imagine the events taking place. In general, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose list of works we are discussing today, always attached special importance to little things.

The charismatic characters also made a lasting impression on readers. Tough, merciless Taras, ready to do anything for the sake of the Motherland, brave and courageous Ostap and romantic, selfless Andrei - they cannot leave readers indifferent. In general, Gogol’s famous works, the list of which we are considering, have an interesting feature - a surprising but harmonious contradiction in the characters’ characters.

"Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka"

Another mystical, but at the same time funny and ironic work by Gogol. The blacksmith Vakula is in love with Oksana, who promised to marry him if he gets her slippers like the queen herself. Vakula is in despair... But then, quite by chance, he comes across evil spirits having fun in the village in the company of a witch. It is not surprising that Gogol, whose list of works includes numerous mystical stories, used a witch and a devil in this story.

This story is interesting not only because of the plot, but also because of the colorful characters, each of whom is unique. They, as if alive, appear before the readers, each in their own image. Gogol admires some with slight irony, he admires Vakula, and teaches Oksana to appreciate and love. Like a caring father, he chuckles good-naturedly at his characters, but it all looks so soft that it only evokes a gentle smile.

The character of the Ukrainians, their language, customs and foundations, so clearly described in the story, could only be described in such detail and lovingly by Gogol. Even making fun of the “Moskalyama” looks cute from the lips of the characters in the story. This is because Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, whose list of works we are discussing today, loved his homeland and spoke of it with love.

"Dead Souls"

Sounds mystical, don’t you agree? However, in fact, Gogol did not resort to mysticism in this work and looked much deeper - into human souls. The main character Chichikov seems to be a negative character at first glance, but the more the reader gets to know him, the more positive traits he notices in him. Gogol makes the reader worry about the fate of his hero, despite his unpleasant actions, which already says a lot.

In this work, the writer, as always, is an excellent psychologist and a true genius of words.

Of course, these are not all the works that Gogol wrote. The list of works is incomplete without the continuation of Dead Souls. It was its author who allegedly burned it before his death. Rumor has it that in the next two volumes Chichikov was supposed to improve and become a decent person. Is it so? Unfortunately, now we will never know for sure.

Nikolai Vasilyevich 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 studied in school. The top ten includes the most popular and best books by Gogol, the list of which is located below.

10 Sorochinskaya Fair

“Sorochinskaya Fair” opens the list of works written by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol and is part of the collection “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. The actions in the story take place in the homeland of the prose writer. The plot centers on a young man named Gritsko, who falls in love with a beautiful girl named Khavronya. The main character wants to marry her. The girl’s father doesn’t mind, but the stepmother refuses to give her stepdaughter to him because he didn’t please her. Then Gritsko turns to the gypsy for help, who makes a plan on how to still win the favor of his stepmother and arrange a wedding.

9 Portrait

“Portrait” is a work included in the “Petersburg Tales” cycle. The main character of the story is a young man Chartkov, who is engaged in art. He is incredibly poor, he doesn’t even have money to pay for rented housing. Despite this, the artist uses his last money to buy a portrait depicting an old man. He attracts the young man because the eyes in the portrait seem to be alive. The young man begins to be haunted at night by strange dreams, as if an old man is coming out of a frame with a bag full of money. In a dream, Chartkov manages to snatch one package with 1000 chervonets. The next morning, the young man wakes up and discovers that this money is actually there. 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 affect this artist.

8 Nevsky Prospekt

“Nevsky Prospekt” is included in the book “Petersburg Tales”. Nikolai Vasilyevich begins the story with an enthusiastic description of Nevsky Prospect, which he considers one of the best places in St. Petersburg. It is here that any thoughtful observer can gain many impressions. The main characters of the work are Pirogov and Piskarev, who meet in this place while courting beautiful ladies. Gogol tells two stories of these at first glance completely different young people, whose hopes were not justified. The author draws an analogy between these heroes and leads 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.” At the center of the plot of the book is a titular adviser living in poverty named Akakiy Akakievich Bashmachkin. He was very responsible about his official duties, despite the fact that it was insignificant. Young officials also made jokes about this about Bashmachkin. Soon Akaki notices that his old overcoat has become unusable and takes it to a tailor to have it patched. But he refuses to do this, saying that he needs to sew a new one. Bashmachkin begins to save, infringing on himself even in small ways in order to raise money for a new overcoat. Having collected the required amount, he orders it for himself. The joy from 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 catches a cold and dies.

6 May Night, or the Drowned Woman

“May Night, or the Drowned Woman” is a story by Gogol, included in the book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. The work is based on legends about restless souls who died innocently. The main character, a young lady who can no longer tolerate the bullying of her stepmother, throws herself 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 her deceased stepdaughter. She also turns into a mermaid. The first one has 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 in return she makes his personal life happy.

5 The evening before Ivan Kupala

“The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” is a story by 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 combined into the book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. The plot centers on Petrusya, whose fate is deeply unhappy. In this story, Gogol wants to convey to the reader that man himself is the architect of his own happiness and in order to achieve his goal, in no case should one turn to Satan for help.

4 The Night Before Christmas

“The Night Before Christmas” is one of Nikolai Vasilyevich’s best works, included in the book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.” The main character, blacksmith Vakula, is madly in love with the beautiful girl Oksana, who constantly mocks him. The young man wants to marry her, for which she gives him an impossible task. The young man must get for her the slippers that the queen wears. Vakula understands that such a task is beyond his strength and is going to go to hell for help. By coincidence, evil spirits are at his fingertips. Together with the devil, he flies straight to the queen in St. Petersburg, where he asks the ruler for slippers for his bride. Meanwhile, there is a rumor in the village that Vakula committed suicide. Oksana will punish 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 filmed several times and gained enormous popularity. The work is entirely based on historical materials, as well as parables of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The main character of the story is Taras Bulba, who is an example of what a true Cossack should be. The book revolves around him and his two sons.

2 Notes of a Madman

“Notes of a Madman” is included in the collection “Petersburg Tales”. Gogol places Poprishchin, who is the author of the notes, at the center of the story. The main character is a minor official dissatisfied with his position and the fact that everyone pushes him around. He is obsessed with the idea that he must find his field, and keeps a diary in which he describes his entire life, as well as expresses his existing 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 Mr. Chichikov’s journey across Russia with the goal of buying up “dead souls.” While reading the novel, the reader will get to know many characters, each of whom has their own individual psychological portrait. The author shows all the ugliness of the souls of the landowners, who in fact are people with dead souls, there is nothing human in them. Their only goal in life is profit.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol-Yanovsky; Russian Empire, Poltava Governorate; 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 N. V. Gogol are very popular even now. Many of his works have been filmed, and the name of this writer has become iconic for Russian and world literature. The best proof of this is the author’s high place in our ranking, where N. V. 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 drop the second part of his surname, although it was under this surname that his great-grandfather lived. My great-grandfather changed his surname after accepting Russian citizenship. There were 11 children in Gogol's family, but only five of them lived to adulthood. Nikolai himself was the third child, but the first to survive. Thanks to this, he best remembered his father, who wrote short plays for home performances and was generally a wonderful storyteller. In part, it was he who instilled in N. V. Gogol his first love for the theater.

At the age of ten, Nikolai was sent to study in Poltava. First, he takes preparatory courses from one of the local teachers, and then enters the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences. Since this educational institution had just been formed, the educational process was not very well organized, perhaps this was the reason for Gogol’s low performance. But at the same time, having created circles of like-minded people, the students engaged in self-education and even organized their own magazine. It was during his self-education that Nikolai Gogol fell in love with creativity, which later 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 work, either as an actor or as a civil servant, but he does not stay in either of them for long. At the same time, in 1829, N. V. Gogol’s first poem, “Hanz Küchelgarten,” was published. She does not receive recognition, which for a long time instills in the writer distrust in her capabilities. However, the writer does not stop in his endeavors and a year later “The Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupala” was published, which was received more positively.

In 1830, thanks to friends, N. V. Gogol managed to get 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 author’s financial affairs and allowed him to plunge headlong into literature. It was during this period that N. V. Gogol’s stories “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” and “The Night Before Christmas” were published, which are still popular to read today. This brings fame to the author and allows him to become one of the leading writers in Russia at that time. From 1834 to 1842 such famous works by N. V. Gogol as “Taras Bulba”, “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls” and many others were published.

Since 1836, Gogol has spent 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 more and more religious and makes a journey to the Holy Sepulcher. But, according to the author himself, when he got caught in the rain in Palestine, he felt the same way as the stations in Russia. Therefore, this trip did not bring N. V. Gogol peace of mind. Upon his return in 1949, he worked hard on the second volume of Dead Souls, but just before his death he destroyed them.

Gogol was buried in the cemetery of the Danilov Monastery, but subsequently the remains were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. In 1952, the pedestal of the monument was changed, and “Calvary,” which had previously served as a monument to Gogol, was subsequently acquired by his wife as a monument to her husband. After all, it was N. V. Gogol’s story that Bulgakov considered a model for his work.

Works by N. V. Gogol on the Top books website

In the ratings of our site, N. V. Gogol’s stories are represented quite widely. Many of them are in our ranking and occupy far from the lowest positions there. At the same time, the popularity of N. V. Gogol’s comedies “The Inspector General,” “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” and “The Night Before Christmas” is so great that it allowed these and some other works of N. V. Gogol to be included in our rating. At the same time, many of them occupy quite high places in this ranking and have every chance to strengthen their positions.

All books by Gogol N.V.

1. Author's confession
2. Al-Mamun
3. Alfred
4. Annunziata
5. Articles from Arabesques
6. The evening before Ivan Kupala
7. Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
8. A look at the composition of Little Russia
9. Vladimir third degree
10. Hanz Kuchelgarten
11. Getman
12. Chablova girls
13. The rain continued...
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 in total 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 was not particularly talented in his studies. He was only good at drawing lessons and studying Russian literature. He was only able to write mediocre works.

The beginning of a literary journey

In 1828, Gogol’s life took place when he moved to St. Petersburg. There he served as an official, tried to get a job as an actor in the theater and studied literature. His acting career was not going well, and his service did not bring Gogol any pleasure, and at times even became a burden. And the writer decided to prove himself in the literary field.

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

Gogol and theater

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

Realizing the power of the theater, Gogol took up drama. Gogol's work "The Inspector General" was written in 1835, and first staged 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, the biography of Nikolai Gogol included trips 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 in St. Petersburg. After returning home from Rome, the writer publishes the first volume of the poem. While working on the second volume, Gogol experienced a spiritual crisis. Even a trip to Jerusalem did not help improve the situation.

At the beginning of 1843, Gogol’s famous story “The Overcoat” was first published.

Chronological table

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Gogol Nikolay Vasilievich(1809-1852) - Russian prose writer, playwright, poet, critic, publicist, recognized as one of the classics of Russian literature.
Gogol's tales are varied both in their motives and in the events described in them. Take at least the most famous ones: “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “” - each has its own heroes, its own miracles and its own events.

Fairy tales Gogol Nikolai Vasilievich
"Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka"

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka

One of the most mystical and unusual writers of Russia in its entire history was, undoubtedly, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol- how elegant, simple and, at the same time, fantastic and amazingly beautiful Fairy tales Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka” by Gogol, his stories, short stories, plays and comedies...

And indeed, it is hardly possible to find another author who could write with unsurpassed accuracy and skill not only about everyday things (like the life of a Ukrainian village), but also describe mystical phenomena and phenomena (like evil spirits, flights to St. Petersburg on the devil, stealing the moon, etc.).

Tales of Gogol- some of his best works, in which all the author’s love for Little Russia, for the Ukrainian people and traditions, for the life of ordinary peasants, their beliefs, holidays, and customs was revealed. Almost all of Nikolai Vasilyevich’s works devoted to this topic were included in the collection “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.” They were written by the author over three years, and were published in 1831 (the first volume of Gogol's fairy tales) and 1832 (the second volume).

A kind of “geographical center” of Gogol’s fairy tales collected in “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, as can be seen from the name itself, became the same Dikanka from Nikolai Vasilyevich’s childhood - the place of his birth and life. Another remarkable fact is that all the works from the collection are connected by the so-called “framing plot”, since according to the author’s idea, these tales and legends were allegedly collected and recorded by the Ukrainian beekeeper Rudy Panko from the words of his Cossack grandfather Foma Grigorievich.

Gogol's tales are varied both in their motives and in the events described in them. Take at least the most famous ones: “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “” - each has its own heroes, its own miracles and its own events. But all these fairy tales are united by one thing - they depict in all their glory the glorious, kind, hardworking and honest Ukrainian people with their beliefs, traditions and even legends. After all, beautiful girls and brave, pure-hearted boys in the work are opposed by mystical, semi-pagan otherworldly forces. However, goodness still wins in these fairy tales, justice triumphs, and evil spirits leave with nothing. So the author contrasts spirituality, light and grace of the human soul with the darkness of the other world.

Gogol's fairy tales are still loved in all corners of both Russia and Ukraine. They are studied in school, children and adults read them. And the reason for this is not only the sensational mysticism of these works, but also sparkling humor, charismatic characters, and a talented portrayal of the life of the Ukrainian village.