Diary of a Madman And Other Stories: Diary of a Madman;the Nose;the Overcoat;How Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich;Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka And His Aunt (Classics) - Tapa blanda

Illuminates the Russian writer's thoughts on madness, bureaucracy, and illusion in these five tales.

Nikolai Gogol (1809-52) was born in the Ukraine and left for St Peterburg at the age of 19 where he published a collection of short stories and for a short time held the post of professor of history at the university. Gogol's experience of life in St Petersburg informed his savagely satirical play, The Government Inspector, and a series of brilliant short stories including Nevsky Prospekt and Notes of a Madman. From 1836 to 48, Gogol lived abroad, mainly in Rome, where he was working on his comic epic Dead Souls - a work he wrestled with for the rest of his life before renouncing literature and burning parts of the manuscript shortly before he died.