Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a Russian short story writer, playwright and novelist born in the Ukrainian Cossack town of Sorochyntsi. Often referred to as the Father of the Golden Age of Russian Literature, Gogol was the author of the first great Russian novel, Dead Souls, 1842. He was one of the first writers to use the grotesque in his work, and the famous trope can be seen in his well-known short story, The Overcoat, 1842.