The Inspector General

When word reaches a shabby provincial town that a government inspector is arriving in secret, the crooked mayor and his officials panic and mistake Khlestakov, a penniless, boastful clerk stranded at the local inn, for the dreaded official. They shower him with bribes and flattery, and the empty-headed Khlestakov happily plays along, borrowing money and courting the mayor’s wife and daughter before slipping away just ahead of the truth. Gogol’s 1836 comedy skewers the greed, cowardice, and vanity of small-town officialdom, and its famous frozen closing scene still lands. It caused an uproar at its premiere and remains one of the great satirical plays. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.