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Biography of Nikolai GogolName: Nikolai GogolBirth Date: March 20, 1809 Death Date: February 21, 1852 Place of Birth: Sorochincy, Ukraine Nationality: Russian Gender: Male Occupations: author, dramatist, novelist Nikolai Gogol With the works of the Russian author Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) the period of Russian imitation of Western literature ended. He found inspiration in native materials and combined realistic detail with grotesque and otherworldly elements.Nikolai Gogol was born on March 20, 1809, in the little Ukrainian town of Sorochincy. He was, as a child, dreamy and withdrawn and was deeply affected by the death of a younger brother. When he was 9, Gogol went away to school, where he spent 7 years. He was a mediocre student but well behaved. He left school in June 1828 and apparently intended to make a career for himself in the Russian civil service. But despite financial difficulties, he delayed entry into the civil service and attempted to make a name for himself in literature. He published the poem "Italy" on March 23, 1829, in the journal Son of the Fatherland; it was a clumsy effort, however, and received no critical attention. …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…available in many editions. Bernard Guilbert Guerney's translations are recommended. David Magarshack, Gogol: A Life (1957), is a competent and interesting critical biography. Biographical data are mixed with critical analysis in Janko Lavrin, Gogol (1926) and Nikolai Gogol (1809-1825): A Centenary Survey (1951). Vladimir Nabokov, Nikolai Gogol (1944), is an amusing and entertaining analysis of some aspects of Gogol's work, while Vsevolod Setchkarev, Gogol: His Life and Works, translated by Robert Kramer (1965), is a sober and trustworthy analysis of individual works. A specialized study of Gogol's short stories is Frederik Driessen, Gogol as a Short Story Writer: A Study of His Technique of Composition (trans. 1965). Prince D. S. Mirsky, A History of Russian Literature (2 vols., 1926-1927), is recommended for general literary and historical background. An abridged one-volume edition of Mirsky's work was edited by Francis J. Whitfield (1949; rev. ed. 1958).Gogol, Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1981.Troyat, Henri, Gogol: the biography of a divided soul, London: Allen and Unwin, 1974. |