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Three Plays: The Government Inspector / Marriage / The Gamblers
This collection contains Gogol's three completed plays
The Government Inspector, which satirises a corrupt society was regarded by Nabokov as the greatest play in the Russian language and is still widely studied in schools and "I resolved to gather into one heap everything that was bad in Russia which I was aware of at that time, all the injustices being perpetrated in those places, and in those circumstances that especially cried out for justice, and tried to hold them all up to ridicule, at one fell swoop." (Nikolai Gogol)
Marriage is a comedy about the business of matchmaking and matrimony; The Gamblers is an exoriating piece about the excesses of the Moscow aristocracy."Two and two make five, if not the square root of five, and it all happens quite naturally in Gogol's world... Gogol was a strange creature, but then genius is always strange" (Vladimir Nabokov)
The Government Inspector, which satirises a corrupt society was regarded by Nabokov as the greatest play in the Russian language and is still widely studied in schools and "I resolved to gather into one heap everything that was bad in Russia which I was aware of at that time, all the injustices being perpetrated in those places, and in those circumstances that especially cried out for justice, and tried to hold them all up to ridicule, at one fell swoop." (Nikolai Gogol)
Marriage is a comedy about the business of matchmaking and matrimony; The Gamblers is an exoriating piece about the excesses of the Moscow aristocracy."Two and two make five, if not the square root of five, and it all happens quite naturally in Gogol's world... Gogol was a strange creature, but then genius is always strange" (Vladimir Nabokov)
256 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 1999
About the author
Nikolai Gogol
2,162 books5,827 followersPeople consider that Russian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Николай Васильевич Гоголь) founded realism in Russian literature. His works include
The Overcoat
(1842) and
Dead Souls
(1842).
Ukrainian birth, heritage, and upbringing of Gogol influenced many of his written works among the most beloved in the tradition of Russian-language literature. Most critics see Gogol as the first Russian realist. His biting satire, comic realism, and descriptions of Russian provincials and petty bureaucrats influenced later Russian masters Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and especially Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Gogol wittily said many later Russian maxims.
Gogol first used the techniques of surrealism and the grotesque in his works The Nose , Viy , The Overcoat , and Nevsky Prospekt . Ukrainian upbringing, culture, and folklore influenced his early works, such as Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka .
His later writing satirized political corruption in the Russian empire in Dead Souls .
Ukrainian birth, heritage, and upbringing of Gogol influenced many of his written works among the most beloved in the tradition of Russian-language literature. Most critics see Gogol as the first Russian realist. His biting satire, comic realism, and descriptions of Russian provincials and petty bureaucrats influenced later Russian masters Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and especially Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Gogol wittily said many later Russian maxims.
Gogol first used the techniques of surrealism and the grotesque in his works The Nose , Viy , The Overcoat , and Nevsky Prospekt . Ukrainian upbringing, culture, and folklore influenced his early works, such as Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka .
His later writing satirized political corruption in the Russian empire in Dead Souls .
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 10, 2016
I had read all of Gogol's fiction, except for his plays, which were hard to find. Recently, a wonderful edition of The Inspector was published by Theatre Communications Group and translated by none other than Pevear and Volokhonsky. I immediately bought and read it (as all of Gogol's works, it was wonderful). Gogol also wrote two other plays, though - Marriage and The Gamblers - which I just couldn't find in a properly translated English edition. Then I stumbled on this collection, published by Methuen Drama (never heard of it before, to be honest). Re-reading The Government Inspector in a different translation can never hurt (this is always the case for translated works, of course - the more translations you read, the better), while I finally got to read Gogol's other plays to complete my reading of his fiction.
This edition has a good introduction and is nicely printed (i.e., it has a good 'feel,' a nice textual layout, and is without errors). Marriage was had me laughing out loud in several instances - it's pure Gogol. The Gamblers was not quite as good, but it was still intriguing with its plot twist near the end (although, in all fairness, I saw it coming - and would expect most people to see it as well).
This edition has a good introduction and is nicely printed (i.e., it has a good 'feel,' a nice textual layout, and is without errors). Marriage was had me laughing out loud in several instances - it's pure Gogol. The Gamblers was not quite as good, but it was still intriguing with its plot twist near the end (although, in all fairness, I saw it coming - and would expect most people to see it as well).
January 7, 2009
The Government Inspector is one of my favourite plays of all time.
It is satire at its absolute best; it shows the problems at every level of society, every occupation and without any worry for what people might think.
Set in a small provincial government town who are expecting an inspector to arrive any day, a young man who is silly and broke, travelling back to his parents estate to ask for money.
He arrives in the town and is mistaken for the Government Inspector. The story unfolds from there, but it is brilliantly funny and clever.
It is satire at its absolute best; it shows the problems at every level of society, every occupation and without any worry for what people might think.
Set in a small provincial government town who are expecting an inspector to arrive any day, a young man who is silly and broke, travelling back to his parents estate to ask for money.
He arrives in the town and is mistaken for the Government Inspector. The story unfolds from there, but it is brilliantly funny and clever.
March 14, 2015
المفتش العام : التعليق من هنا
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
المقامرون : دائماً يوجد من هو أذكي من الذكي
الغبي حقاً هو من يظن نفسه أذكي الأذكياء
------------
للمرة الثانية استمتعت بها كالمرة الأولى تماماً
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
المقامرون : دائماً يوجد من هو أذكي من الذكي
الغبي حقاً هو من يظن نفسه أذكي الأذكياء
------------
للمرة الثانية استمتعت بها كالمرة الأولى تماماً
July 15, 2025
The Government Inspector might be the funniest work I've ever read, Marriage has an incredibly funny scene that makes the entire play worth it, and The Gamblers is a bit of a slog but still fun. Overall, nothing bad here with the highest of highs without any major complaints.
September 7, 2008
really top class!
July 2, 2011
The Government Inspector *****
Marriage ***** (Favourites)
The Gamblers ***** (Favourites)
Marriage ***** (Favourites)
The Gamblers ***** (Favourites)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews