To the book by V.A. Voropaev, famous Russian Gogol scholar, professor at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, includes articles and essays written over the past fifteen years and supplemented and revised for this publication. Gogol’s textbook works (“The Inspector General,” “Dead Souls”), his spiritual prose (“Selected passages from correspondence with friends,” “Reflections on the Divine Liturgy”), as well as works practically unknown to the modern reader, such as , a poetic prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, found after the death of the writer and becoming perhaps his most famous work in Slavic (and not only) countries. The book covers in detail, with the use of new materials, including archival materials, the most controversial aspects of Gogol’s biography (travel to Jerusalem, visits to Optina Pustyn, relations with the Optina elders, Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky, the fate of the second volume of “Dead Souls”, circumstances and causes of death Gogol. The writer’s life and work are examined through the prism of his religious worldview. The rich new factual material will undoubtedly be useful to Gogol scholars, and the simple and fascinating language makes the book interesting and accessible to a wide range of readers.