Nikolai Gogol (Cyclopedia of World Authors)

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (GAW-guhl), the son of a Cossack landowner, attended the provincial grammar school in Nyezhin from 1821 until 1828. Being naturally withdrawn, Gogol made few friends, and at an early age he turned to writing, actually finishing a boyish tragedy titled The Brigands. After leaving school he went to St. Petersburg. Shortly after his arrival he published under the pseudonym of V. Alov an idyllic poem titled Hanz Kuechelgarten; this work was so harshly ridiculed by the critics that Gogol destroyed as many copies as he could. Deciding to go to America,...

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