The first acquaintance of the English-speaking world with the works of Nikolay Gogol

Statement of the problem. This article is the contribution to the research of the English-speaking world perception and understanding of the Russian literature. The aim of the article is to reveal a certain attention to Gogol’s works of the English-speaking audience even before 1886, (the year when Isabel F. Hapgood’s translations initiated British awareness of the works of the Russian writer). The material for this study includes articles about Russian literature and Russia, published in English-speaking periodicals, prefaces to the first translations of Gogol’s novels, notes from diaries, written by the British who visited and stayed in Russia, textbooks of the Russian language for the English-speaking students - the sources that contained any information about the perception of the Russian writer and his works by the English-speaking world. Research results. The study revealed the presence of both positive and negative reviews on Gogol’s works having circulated within English-speaking world even before I. F. Hapgood`s translations (the official date of English-speaking readers’ acquaintance with Gogol). The audience was interested in Gogol as a representative of modern Russian art, a national writer describing traditions and superstitions of Russia, a satirist and mystic, the one who exposed corruption. Conclusions. The use of Gogol’s works in the Russian textbooks for the English-speaking audience deserves special attention. The texts were used to improve the skills of reading, pronunciation, grammar structures, as well as to give information about the culture of Russia, and to form the image of Russia and the Russian people in the English-speaking students’ minds.