19th Century Classics Fiction Literature Novels Russia Russian Literature

Dead Souls

Name: Dead Souls
Rating: 3.98 (95526 reviews)
Author: Nikolai Gogol

Nikolai Gogol January 1, 1842

3.98 95.5k Ratings

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Synopsis

Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying taxes on them, and to use these ‘souls’ as collateral to re-invent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov. Dead Souls, Russia’s first major novel, is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy.

In his introduction to this new translation, Robert A. Maguire discusses Gogol’s life and literary career, his depiction of Russian society, and the language and narrative techniques employed in Dead Souls. This edition also includes a chronology, further reading, appendices, a glossary, map and notes.

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Dead Souls

Books similar to Dead Souls

Fathers and Sons

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Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle

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One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

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