Abstract
This paper presents the dissertation of writer Jiří Weil, defended in 1928, in which Weil considers the work of N. V.
Gogol in its connection to the English novel of the 18th century. The contribution presents Weil's work in its historical context and in the context of the author's interwar output and activity.
It also draws attention to Weil's inspiration - the concepts and beliefs of Russian formalism -, exploring its conditions and consequences, and on Weil's connection with (Russian) avantgarde and Russian revolutionary literature and culture, demonstrating how Weil's uncommon familiarity with this environment, together with his fascination for the Russian Revolution, in both the social and artistic sphere, significantly influenced the resulting form of his work.