<p><a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/nikolai-gogol">Nikolai Gogol</a> spent most of his literary career writing short stories, drawing inspiration from his childhood in Ukraine and his adult life in <abbr>St.</abbr> Petersburg. His stories are filled with larger than life yet relatable characters and perfectly described locations, and span many genres from historical epics to early horror and surrealism.</p> <p>His influence on Russian literature cannot be understated: <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/fyodor-dostoevsky">Fyodor Dostoevsky</a> is quoted as saying “We all come out from Gogol’s ‘Overcoat,’ ” (presented here as “The Mantle”) and mentioned him by name in <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/fyodor-dostoevsky/crime-and-punishment/constance-garnett"><i>Crime and Punishment</i></a>; Mikhail Bulgakov stated that “no-one can compare with him,” and Vladimir Nabokov wrote a full biography. Many of the stories in this collection have been adapted for stage and film, including “The Nose” as an opera by Dmitri Shostakovich.</p> <p>Collected here are all of the public domain translations into English of Gogol’s short stories, in chronological order of the original Russian publication. They were translated by Claud Field, Isabel <abbr>F.</abbr> Hapgood, Vizetelly and Company, and George Tolstoy.</p>