This Ukrainian, who wrote "the quintessential novel of Russian life" while he was living in Rome, burned his last book just days before he died by his own hand.

2words - 1st word is 7 letters, 2nd word is 5 letters. The 6th letter of the first word is an "A" from JenufA.

Nikolai Gogol.

Correct! You are up grandmere!

This will be too easy, but here goes: some of this artist's earliest etchings were done to accompany one of Gogol's novels. 4, 7 letters: the "A" of Nikolai is the second letter of the first name.

Marc Chagall?

Mais oui! That has to be a record--8 minutes!

Addendum: Chagall illustrated Gogol's Dead Souls, which is very good literature, for those who like to read and haven't read him yet. Definitely not recommended as a page-turner-flight-to-Europe book but worth reading!

It is not the lightest read but is very good! I also love Taras Bulba.

I should try Taras Bulba; it was a movie many years ago, with Yul Brynner, I believe. (Whoa, am I dating myself!)

I need to find a good airplane book for trip to Paris next week and don't suppose TB would be it!

Actually, TB is not nearly the tome that Dead Souls is. It is only about 135 pages and a fairly romantic tale set in the cossack militia. In fact, I read it for the first time on a flight.

A certain journalist became a writer of children's stories. One of his stories is world famous, and several very different movies have been based on it. Name the town where this writer's mother was born. It has 7 letters, and the last "L" of Chagall is the 3rd letter of this town's name.

Belfast, for a brief answer!

Further hint: A famous character lied.

Collodi?

My first answer was based on thinking it was CS Lewis.

cmt???

Yes, Carlo Lorenzini took the name of his mother's home town, Collodi, as his pen name.

I yi yi, I'm going to bed; will think on this as I sleep and present clue tomorrow!

This is the name of the place at which 4 women's lives are transformed in this movie/novel/play. Two words: 3,9

The "L" from Collodi is the 3rd letter of the second word.

Hint: the movie, which I categorize as a fairy tale for adults, was filmed in Portofino.

San Salvatore, The Enchanted April?

(For a while, I was thinking about Ya-Ya sisterhood & New Orleans... but that isn't in Europe! )