Diary of Madman, The Government Inspector and Selected Stories. Nikolay Gogol. 2005.

'It is not always possible to conceal one's crimes'

Author, dramatist and satirist, Nikolay Gogol (1809-52) deeply influenced later Russian literature with his powerful depictions of a society dominated by petty bureaucracy and base corruption. This volume includes both his most admired short fiction and his most famous drama. A biting and frequently hilarious political satire, The Government Inspector has been popular since its first performance and was regarded by Nabokov as the greatest Russian play ever written. The stories gathered here range from comic to tragic and describe the isolated lives of low-ranking clerks, lunatics and swind-lers. They include The Diary of a Madman', an amusing but disturbing exploration of insanity; Nevsky Prospekt, a depiction of an artist besotted with a young woman; and The Overcoat, a moving consideration of poverty that powerfully inspired Dostoyevsky and later Russian writers.

Edited and translated by Ronald Wilks, this new collection of Gogol's shorter writings skifully captures the savage wit of the original works. Robert Maguire's introduction considers recurrent themes and Gogol's influence on Realism. This edition also includes detailed notes, a publishing history for each story and a chronology.