The Overcoat

Nikolai Gogol · 1809–1852 · Ukraine / Russia

Originally Shinel (Russian)

Why it matters

A copying clerk scrimps for months to afford a new overcoat, only to have it stolen on the very night he finally wears it. 'We all came out from under Gogol's Overcoat': the little man's tragedy that begat Dostoevsky and a century of Russian fiction.

At a glance

A short, plainly told tale, though its ironic narrative voice rewards close attention.