The Overcoat

Cover, by Igor Grabar, 1890s

"The Overcoat" (Russian: Шине́ль, romanized: Shinél; also translated as "The Cloak" or "The Mantle") is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, published in 1843. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé, discussing Russian realist writers, said: "We all came out from under Gogol's Overcoat" (a quote often misattributed to Dostoevsky). Writing in 1941, Vladimir Nabokov described "The Overcoat" as "The greatest Russian short story ever written".