Nikolai Gogol’s Unknown Book, 1834: Intention, Context, Reminiscences

Abstract

The research is devoted to one of the many creative ideas of Gogol in 1834. The textual analysis shows the unity of the two historical works of the writer, which were previously published as separate works. These manuscripts testify that Gogol's “Bibliography of the Middle Ages” and the course of medieval history written at the same time (of ten lectures) represent a special edition that was being prepared for publication (which remained unpublished for unknown reasons). For the first time, the reader got acquainted with the “Bibliography of the Middle Ages” and Gogol’s ten university lectures in 1896, but until that moment these materials, published separately, have not been comprehended as a single whole prepared for publication. The publication of the book, which did not take place in 1834, is put in connection with Gogol's then cooperation with the Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov. During this period, thanks to the minister, Gogol entered the department of general history of St. Petersburg University and published four articles in the ministerial journal. The article analyzes the content of Gogol's lecture course and its relation to his other works. The author of the article proposes a possible title for the untitled book, based on the surviving Gogol lecture program.