Show Plot Government Inspector

Author: Nikolai Gogol

Time Period: 1830s

Setting: An unnamed, isolated provincial town in Russia

Summary:  The corrupt mayor of a small Russian town tells local officials that a secret government inspector is arriving.  The officials hear about a broke young traveler stuck at the local inn and assume he is the inspector in disguise. When the traveler, Khlestakov, realizes they think he is important. He plays along, accepts heavy bribes, and flirts with the mayor's wife and daughter.  As the furious officials process the trick, a gendarme arrives to announce the real inspector has just come from the capital.