A reviewer is here incognito! The dignitaries of a Russian provincial town, in a state of panic that all their wrongdoings will be exposed, try to win over the newcomer. However, he is not at all who they think he is, yet he eagerly plays his role and accepts what the officials and their ladies offer him. Before the final scene reveals everyone in silent horror awaiting the true reviewer, many human weaknesses have been hilariously unmasked in delightful comedic scenes, which still flourish here and now just as they did back in the Tsarist era. Unabridged and unedited text edition in the original language, with translations of difficult words at the bottom of each page, afterword, and literature references.