Dead Souls -

: Because censuses were conducted years apart, landowners kept paying taxes on serfs who had died in the interim.

: The landowners get a tax break, and Chichikov plans to take his massive list of paper serfs to a bank, mortgage them as if they are living property, and buy himself a real estate empire. 🎭 A Gallery of Grotesques Dead Souls

The premise of the novel hinges on a loophole in the Imperial Russian tax and legal system: : Because censuses were conducted years apart, landowners

: A giant, bear-like man who is ruthlessly efficient and drives a hard bargain for his deceased property. : A hoarder so consumed by miserliness that

: A hoarder so consumed by miserliness that his estate is crumbling and his own family is starving. 🔥 Why You Should Read It Today Dead Souls - ...on the B.L.

: Landowners had to pay taxes on their male serfs (referred to officially as "souls") based on the latest census.