Gogol's Coat
Written by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Regolo Ricci
Imprint: Tundra Books | Format: Hardcover | Pub Date: September 1998 | Age: 7-10 | Trim Size: 8 x 10 | # of Pages: 32 pages | ISBN: 978-0-88776-429-5 (0-88776-429-0) | CDN Price: $17.99 / US Price: $14.95
In an unnamed city, in an unnamed country, sometime long ago, there lived a poor but talented young scrivener named Gogol. All day he toiled in the Office of Alphabet Copiers, Third Class, happily writing out letters from A to Z. Only the tricks played on him by his jealous co-worker, Ravinsky, marred his pleasure. At night Gogol returned to his garret and shared his meager supper with a stray dog named Rose. But soon the winter grew colder. Walking to work each morning, Gogol shivered in his patched and tattered old coat. Finally, he went to the tailor and offered all his savings for a new coat. What a coat the tailor made for Gogol! Everyone admired it. But Gogol’s joy is short-lived for the coat gets stolen. But with the help of Rose, Gogol just might get it back.
Cary’s comments on this book:
“This story is based on 'The Overcoat,' a story by the great Russian writer Nicholai Gogol. In the original story (intended for adults), a man gets his coat stolen and never gets it back. I always felt sorry for the poor man and wanted to get his coat back for him. So I wrote this new story about a boy, who I named Gogol in honour of the original author. (By the way, the original story doesn’t have a dog in it!) The wonderful illustrations were done in oil by the talented Toronto artist Regolo Ricci.