He wrote several short stories which takes place in St. Petersburg, as the Nevsky, the Diary of a Madman, The Overcoat and The Nose. The latter would be adapted as an opera by Dmitri Shostakovich. However, would his comedy The inspector, published in 1836, which would make him a known writer. The satirical tone of the work, which it shares with other writings, generated some controversy, and emigrated to Rome Gogol.