A.M. GORKY INSTITUTE OF WORLD LITERATURE
Issues
“The Work of an Entire Family” (letter from Varvara Brun de Saint-Hippolyte to Nikolai Gogol with Materials for a sequel to “Dead Souls”), introductory article by N.L. Vinogradskaya, text preparation and commentary by N.L. Vinogradskaya and A.A. Shurukhin
- DOI:
- EDN:
- УДК / UDK: 821.161.1.0
- Publication Type: Research Article and Publication of Archival Documents
- Received: 21.03.2026
- Approved after reviewing: 16.06.2026
- Date of publication: 25.09.2026
- Issue:
no. 3 (41), 2026
- Funding Sources:
Introductory Article by N.L. Vinogradskaya, Text Preparation and Commentary by N.L. Vinogradskaya and A.A. Shurukhina
The work was carried out at IWL RAS with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 25-28-02075 “Gogol and His Entourage (A Collection of Biographical Materials)” (https://rscf.ru/project/25-28-02075/).
- Abstract:
For the first time, a letter from Varvara Alekseyevna Brun de Saint- Hippolyte (née Kop’eva, c. 1807–1875) to Nikolai Gogol containing materials for a sequel to “Dead Souls” is published and attributed. The letter, probably dating back to the end of 1850, was written in response to Gogol’s preface to the second edition of “Dead Souls” (“To the Reader from the Author,” 1847). It invited readers of all social classes to correct the errors of the first volume of the poem and send Gogol their comments along with notes on the people around them, their daily life, and customs. Varvara Brun de Saint-Hippolyte, among others, responded to this request. She was born in St. Petersburg into the family of the playwright Alexei Kop’ev, but soon after her marriage (1846), she left the capital and settled on her Kostroma estate, from where she wrote to Gogol, enclosing a notebook with materials she had prepared jointly with other family members. The notebook contains sketches of the social and musical life of St. Petersburg. Gogol wrote to Petr Pletnev on July 15, 1851, about his impressions of the materials he received, noting that they contain “observation and life.” The text is published with a commentary and an introductory article, which provides biographical information about Varvara Brun de Saint-Hippolyte and her family. The place of the letter in the creative history of “Dead Souls” is revealed. This publication helps expand the corpus of Gogol’s correspondence, as presented in the academic Complete Works of the writer.
- Keywords: Nikolai Gogol, Varvara Brun de Saint-Hippolyte, Petr Pletnev, “Dead Souls,” preface to the second edition of “Dead Souls,” correspondence, musical life of St. Petersburg in the first half of the 19th century, amateur musicians
- For citation:
Vinogradskaya, N.L., Shurukhina, A.A. “‘The Work of an Entire Family’ ( Letter f rom Varvara Brun de Saint-Hippolyte to Nikolai Gogol with Materials for a Sequel to ‘Dead Souls’),” introd. by N.L. Vinogradskaya, text prep. and comm. by N.L. Vinogradskaya and A.A. Shurukhina. Literaturnyi fakt, no. 3 (41), 2026, pp. 41–90. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-8297-2026-41-41-90
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