Books by Anton Chekhov

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Book SynopsisA young woman struggles to assert herself within a regrettable marriage.A boy learns about life on an epic summer's journey to a new school.A doctor attempts to befriend his most interesting patient.A young man tries to figure out the best way to live.This riverrun edition presents a selection of Chekhov's longer stories - novellas, effectively - in Constance Garnett's timeless translations. These four stories, Ward No.6, The Wife, The Steppe and My Life, tell of characters attempting to create meaning through work, connection with others and art; they deal with misunderstandings and loss; they celebrate brief joys, sudden passions and unsatisfied longings, all underscored by Chekhov's gentle wit and great humanity. This unique collection - selected and introduced by the celebrated Janet Malcolm - is unmissable for the enthusiast and a brilliant introduction to one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers.

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Book SynopsisA married woman restlessly seeks a deeper love.An insomniac ponders the meagreness of his life.A man loses the respect of his family because of a counterfeit coin.A duel of wits escalates into a clash of cultures - and more.The Duel and Other Stories is the second in an exclusive three-volume edition of Chekhov's stories. Encompassing the intricacy and range of social connection, these exquisitely crafted stories trace the mutability of our everyday relationships as they stall, separate or entwine. In the strangely lyrical deadpan prose so characteristic of Chekhov's drama, they expose the misplaced affections, broken vows, and brilliant dreams of what it is to be human. This unique collection offers a perfect introduction to one of Russia's - and the world's - greatest writers.

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Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov''s short stories were some of the most influential in modern literature. Relying on subtlety and clever characterisation rather than explicit action, his sketches of Russian life bring out comedy, tragedy and all aspects of human nature. This collection features some of Chekhov''s most celebrated stories, including ''Vanka'', ''The Lady with a Dog'' and ''Sleepy''.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

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Book SynopsisIn 1890, the thirty-year-old Chekhov, already knowing that he was ill with tuberculosis, undertook an arduous eleven-week journey from Moscow across Siberia to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin. Now collected here in one volume are the fully annotated translations of his impressions of his trip through Siberia and the account of his three-month sojourn on Sakhalin Island, together with his notes and extracts from his letters to relatives and associates. Highly valuable both as a detailed depiction of the Tsarist system of penal servitude and as an insight into Chekhov’s motivations and objectives for visiting the colony and writing the exposé, Sakhalin Island is a haunting work which had a huge impact both on Chekhov’s career and on Russian society.Trade ReviewAs a work of literature, Sakhalin Island is a masterpiece of restrained, dignified, unsentimental prose … a work of complete seriousness, full of clear, humane, practical suggestions for reform. * The Observer *Mr Reeve’s work reminds one that Chekhov was as great a master of the documentary genre – and also of the best academic prose – as of drama and narrative fiction … Sakhalin Island will never eclipse The Cherry Orchard. But it is every bit as impressive a masterpiece, and this new version will surely make its merits more widely known. * TLS *

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Book SynopsisThe most widely staged dramatist after Shakespeare, Chekhov left a deep mark both on the development of Russian literature and world theatre, with plays that were remarkable not just for their dialogue but their atmosphere and the tensions expressed between the lines. Collected in this volume are Chekhov's four most celebrated plays - The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard - in a brand-new translation by Hugh Aplin. In these personal stories of unfulfilled love, failed ambition and existential ennui, set against a background of unsettling social and economical change, the reader can appreciate the groundbreaking qualities of Chekhov's theatrical genius.Trade ReviewWhat writers influenced me as a young man? Chekhov! As a dramatist? Chekhov! As a story writer? Chekhov! -- Tennessee Williams

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Book SynopsisA refreshing, revitalised adaptation of Chekhov's timeless play about vanity, power and sacrifices made in the name of art. Premiered at the Barbican Theatre, London, in 2025, with an ensemble cast including Cate Blanchett.

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Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

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Book SynopsisPrimarily known as a dramatist, Chekhov also wrote short stories. This selection of his work includes "The Swedish Match", "Easter Eve", "Mire", "On the Road", "Verotchka", "Volodya", "The Kiss", "Sleepy" and "The Steppe".

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Book SynopsisFrom the teenager in provincial Russia in 1875 to his premature death in Germany in 1904, Chekhov wrote over 4,500 letters to a range of correspondents, including family and friends, his publisher and fellow writers - not to mention actresses. These letters tell the story of Chekhov''s life as a man and a writer and he emerges from them as a tough, generous, life-enhancing, and enigmatic character.

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Book SynopsisRichard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the highly acclaimed translators of War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, and Anna Karenina, which was an Oprah Book Club pick and million-copy bestseller, bring their unmatched talents to The Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, a collection of thirty of Chekhov’s best tales from the major periods of his creative life.   Considered the greatest short story writer, Anton Chekhov changed the genre itself with his spare, impressionistic depictions of Russian life and the human condition. From characteristically brief, evocative early pieces such as “The Huntsman” and the tour de force “A Boring Story,” to his best-known stories such as “The Lady with the Little Dog” and his own personal favorite, “The Student,” Chekhov’s short fiction possesses the transcendent power of art to awe and change the reader. This monumental edition, expertly translated, is especially faithful to the meaning of Chekhov’s prose and the unique rhythms of his writing, giving readers an authentic sense of his style and a true understanding of his greatness.

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Book Synopsis‘Do you ever wonder what would happen if we could live our lives all over again but be fully conscious of it the second time? I bet we’d try to do everything differently, or at least would know to create a different world for ourselves.’ In a room in a house in a provincial town, three sisters wait for their lives to begin. Olga, the eldest. Masha, the middle child. Irina, the youngest. The clock strikes. A candle is lit. The clock stops. Something catches fire. The clock strikes. They wake up. Cordelia Lynn's version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, from a literal translation by Helen Rappaport, was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in April 2019, in a production directed by Rebecca Frecknall.Trade Review'Deftly captures the sense of longing for a new life... brilliantly captures the sense of boredom and discontent felt by the three sisters and others who orbit their home' * Culture Whisper *'Cordelia Lynn's adaptation makes Chekhov's characters feel like contemporary young women, vibrating with frustration at being stuck in unsatisfying jobs and lumbered with unsatisfying men... her update also delivers moments of capsizing sadness... quietly devastating' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers lively and accurate translations of Chekhov''s major plays and one-acts (complete contents listed below) along with a superb Introduction focused on the plays'' remarkably enduring power to elicit the most widely divergent of responses, the life of the playwright in its historical and aesthetic contexts, suggestions for reading the plays under a microscope, and notes designed to bring Chekhov''s world into immediate focus--everything needed to examine his drama with fresh eyes and on its own artistic terms.Trade ReviewCarnicke treats Chekhov as a riddle that is solvable only if we understand his career as a humorist. Her decision to juxtapose Chekhov's great dramas with his earlier light farces is purposeful, as the thrust behind her translations and excellent introduction is not only to introduce the reader to Chekhov's early humorous works, but to bring out crucial comic elements in his later ones. Her introduction functions as an essential primer for any student on the works of Chekhov. Its thorough exploration of Chekhov's idiosyncratic use of language is a godsend for directors and performers of English-language productions of these plays. A theatre director and performer herself, Carnicke pays close attention to the details of Chekhov's language, and her translations are geared toward live performance with speech ready-made for the stage. She retains the sense of the originals but adapts them in a colloquial English that is utterly performable. Carnicke's collection is the quintessential starting point for any serious performer of Chekhov, not only because of the playable translations, most of which have already been tested on stage, but for its engaging and enlightening introduction. The volume represents a momentous step toward ridding the American stage of stodgy and dour productions of Chekhov's masterpieces. --Brian Johnson, Swarthmore College, condensed from Translation Review 82These new translations read smoothly and display ?delity to the original. Carnicke has aimed to ?nd a middle path between versions that are too colloquial and versions that sound stilted or too formal to the American ear and has succeeded. --Julian W. Connolly, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of VirginiaCarnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic ?eld to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia. --Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers lively and accurate translations of Chekhov''s major plays and one-acts (complete contents listed below) along with a superb Introduction focused on the plays'' remarkably enduring power to elicit the most widely divergent of responses, the life of the playwright in its historical and aesthetic contexts, suggestions for reading the plays under a microscope, and notes designed to bring Chekhov''s world into immediate focus--everything needed to examine his drama with fresh eyes and on its own artistic terms.Trade ReviewCarnicke treats Chekhov as a riddle that is solvable only if we understand his career as a humorist. Her decision to juxtapose Chekhov's great dramas with his earlier light farces is purposeful, as the thrust behind her translations and excellent introduction is not only to introduce the reader to Chekhov's early humorous works, but to bring out crucial comic elements in his later ones. Her introduction functions as an essential primer for any student on the works of Chekhov. Its thorough exploration of Chekhov's idiosyncratic use of language is a godsend for directors and performers of English-language productions of these plays. A theatre director and performer herself, Carnicke pays close attention to the details of Chekhov's language, and her translations are geared toward live performance with speech ready-made for the stage. She retains the sense of the originals but adapts them in a colloquial English that is utterly performable. Carnicke's collection is the quintessential starting point for any serious performer of Chekhov, not only because of the playable translations, most of which have already been tested on stage, but for its engaging and enlightening introduction. The volume represents a momentous step toward ridding the American stage of stodgy and dour productions of Chekhov's masterpieces. --Brian Johnson, Swarthmore College, condensed from Translation Review 82These new translations read smoothly and display ?delity to the original. Carnicke has aimed to ?nd a middle path between versions that are too colloquial and versions that sound stilted or too formal to the American ear and has succeeded. --Julian W. Connolly, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of VirginiaCarnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic ?eld to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia. --Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisDrawn from Sharon Marie Carnicke's volume of Chekhov, Four Plays and Three Jokes (Hackett), this edition of The Cherry Orchard features Carnicke's groundbreaking translation of a play that has been called Chekhov's ultimate theatrical coup d'etat.** Donald Rayfield, The Cherry Orchard: Catastrophe and ComedyTrade Reviewp>Carnicke's Cherry Orchard is direct, easily accessible to young American students, and mercifully free of all that blather that mucks up so much of the other versions that I know. --James Parker, Late Professor of Theatre, Virginia Commonwealth University

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Book SynopsisDrawn from Sharon Marie Carnicke's volume of Chekhov, Four Plays and Three Jokes (Hackett), this edition of The Cherry Orchard features Carnicke's groundbreaking translation of a play that has been called Chekhov's ultimate theatrical coup d'etat.** Donald Rayfield, The Cherry Orchard: Catastrophe and ComedyTrade Reviewp>Carnicke's Cherry Orchard is direct, easily accessible to young American students, and mercifully free of all that blather that mucks up so much of the other versions that I know. --James Parker, Late Professor of Theatre, Virginia Commonwealth University

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Book SynopsisFirst published in her Chekhov: Four Plays and Three Jokes, Sharon Marie Carnicke's eye-opening translation of Three Sisters appears in this edition with a new Introduction that expands upon her discussion in Four Plays & Three Jokes of Chekov's innovative dramaturgy--especially as seen in this subtle melodrama turned inside out.Trade ReviewCarnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic field to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia. Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisFirst published in her Chekhov: Four Plays and Three Jokes, Sharon Marie Carnicke's eye-opening translation of Three Sisters appears in this edition with a new Introduction that expands upon her discussion in Four Plays & Three Jokes of Chekov's innovative dramaturgy--especially as seen in this subtle melodrama turned inside out.Trade Review"Carnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic field to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia." -- Robert L Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisThis adaptation by David Hare premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London in 1997 starring Ralph FiennesThis is a drama of a Russian landowner's half-farcical, half serious personal crisis as he plummets fast into domestic and philosophical chaos. The central scene concerns a debate between the landowner and the young doctor about honesty. The latter thinks that honesty is to do with blurting out offensive truths, whilst the former insists that no-one can acquire honesty unless they have the self knowledge to examine their own motives. By turns despairing and passionate, this play offers an insight into a robust young writer, exploring themes that were to interest him in his later plays.

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Book SynopsisDon''t be miserable, you wonderful woman; be a mermaid. There''s the ocean; throw yourself in. Fall in love with some poor mortal and drag him down with you. Astonish us! On an isolated country estate, Sonia and her Uncle Vanya are committed to a life of ceaseless toil. But when the ageing invalid Serebriakov and his bewilderingly beautiful young wife take up residence, a yearning envelops the household and disturbs the accustomed tedium. Friend and confidant Astrov grows lovelorn, Sonia''s heart breaks and even Vanya falls under the spell. And so they fight, bond, belittle, lament, make peace and contemplate the odd murder.Featuring sex, comedy and unbearable sadness in nineteenth-century Russia, this version of Anton Chekhov''s Uncle Vanya was written and directed by Terry Johnson and opened at Hampstead Theatre, London, in November 2018. And having weathered the storm, what''s left? My feelings for you; a few droplets on a window pane, cat

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Book SynopsisRussia, late summer at the close of the nineteenth century. Vanya and his niece Sonya have worked for years to manage the country estate. Into this ordered and regular household come two new visitors, Sonya''s father, an irritable professor, and his young wife Elena who, in the space of a few months, cause chaos, one by their selfishness, and the other by their sexual allure. Between them, they manage to have most of the inhabitants questioning their purpose in life, their happiness and, at times, their sanity.David Hare''s version of Anton Chekhov''s Uncle Vanya opens at Theatre Royal Bath in July 2019.

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Book SynopsisChekhov's treatment of theatre and love against the background of a magical lake attempts to define the role of the artist in the modern world. Plays for Performance Series.Trade ReviewAttractively printed with brightly colored covers..... Whatever is currently on your library's shelves, these adaptations would be an exciting addition. * Kliatt *

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Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov, widely hailed as the supreme master of the short story, also wrote five works long enough to be called short novels–here brought together in one volume for the first time, in a masterly new translation by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.The Steppe—the most lyrical of the five—is an account of a nine-year-old boy’s frightening journey by wagon train across the steppe of southern Russia. The Duel sets two decadent figures—a fanatical rationalist and a man of literary sensibility—on a collision course that ends in a series of surprising reversals. In The Story of an Unknown Man, a political radical spying on an important official by serving as valet to his son gradually discovers that his own terminal illness has changed his long-held priorities in startling ways. Three Years recounts a complex series of ironies in the personal life of a rich but passive Moscow me

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Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).Table of ContentsThe Seagull; Uncle Vanya; Three Sisters; The Cherry Orchard

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Book SynopsisChekhov's Dama s sobachkoy (1899) is perhaps the most celebrated example of his shorter prose and one of the most famous stories in Russian literature. The tale of an adulterous liaison, set in Yalta, it shows to greatest effect Chekhov's propensity for the conjuring of mood and atmosphere. The tale's modernity is displayed too in its anticlimactic conclusion of poignant open-endedness: ' ...and it was clear to both that the end was still far, far off and that the most complicated and difficult part was only beginning.'

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Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).Rory Mullarkey graduated in 2009 from Cambridge, after which he studied at the State Theatrical Arts Academy of St. Petersburg. A translator of Russian Drama, Mullarkey's translations have been produced by the ADC Theatre, The Royal Court and the Free Theatre of Belarus. Plays include Single Sex (Royal Exchange); Remembrance Day (Royal Court), Trade ReviewRory Mullarkey's poetical, darkly funny but never murky adaptation proves stimulating and surprising . . . makes you laugh one moment and shudder the next * Times on The Oresteia *The verse rhythms are fluid and flexible, allowing for passages of lyric song, and the language is pithy and vivid . . . shows how "justice" - the word that resounds through Mullarkey's text like a drumbeat - easily transmutes into blood-soaked revenge. * The Guardian on The Oresteia *There are ticklish jokes and moments of enjoyable mischief... * Evening Standard on Saint George and the Dragon *

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Book SynopsisWe need the theatre, couldn't, couldn't do without it. Could we?A successful actress visits her brother's isolated estate far from the city, throwing the frustrated residents unfulfilled ambitions into sharp relief. As her son attempts to impress with a self-penned play, putting much more than his pride at stake, others dream of fame, love and the ability to change their past.Chekhov's darkly comic masterpiece is reignited for the 21st century by one of the most exciting new voices in British Theatre, Anya Reiss, Winner of the Most Promising Playwright at both the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle awards.This updated and revised edition was published following the West End production directed by Jamie Lloyd in 2022.

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