Dead Souls

A mysterious stranger named Chichikov arrives in a small provincial Russian town and
proceeds to visit a succession of landowners, making each of them an unusual and
somewhat macabre proposition. He offers to buy the rights to the dead serfs who are
still registered on the landowner's estate, thus reducing their liability for taxes. It is not
clear what Chichikov's intentions are with the dead serfs he is purchasing, and despite
his attempts to ingratiate himself, his strange behaviour arouses the suspicions of everyone
in the town.
A biting satire of social pretensions and pomposity, Dead Souls has been revered
since its original publication in 1842 as one of the funniest and most brilliant novels of
nineteenth-century Russia. Its unflinching and remorseless depiction of venality in Russian
society is a lasting tribute to Gogol's comic genius.

Gogol was a strange creature, but then genius is always strange.

Vorwort
One of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a poignant satire on social hypocrisy. Here presented in a brand new translation by Donald Rayfield. A perfect companion to Petersburg Tales. Both books are part of Alma Classics' Evergreen series.

Autorentext

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) won fame as a short story writer, and in 1836, his satirical comedy The Government Inspector created such a furore that Gogol left Russia to settle in Rome, in self-imposed exile. Religious mania in his later years contributed to his early death in Moscow.

Zusammenfassung
A biting satire of social pretensions and pomposity, Dead Souls, here presented in a brand new translation, is part of Alma Classics Evergreens series of popular classics.