Search results for ""Author Anton Chekhov""

Anton Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya in a new version by Christopher Hampton. This version will be first staged at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 25 October 2012 and run until 16 February 2013.'It's often said that the best of the Chekhov plays is the one you've seen most recently. Uncle Vanya doesn't have a suicide, like The Seagull, or an adulterous couple and a duel more or less indistinguishable from murder, like Three Sisters; nor does it seem to announce the end of an era, like The Cherry Orchard: all it has is a series of ludicrously bungled attempts at murder and suicide and adultery. Perhaps these failures are what makes it feel the saddest and most truthful of these great tragi-comedies, in which, possibly unique to all drama, not a single word seems redundant or out of place.' - From the author's introduction.

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Ward No. 6 and Other Stories 1892-1895 collects stories which show Anton Chekhov beginning to confront complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions in his short fiction. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with notes by Ronald Wilks, and an introduction by J. Douglas Clayton.These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career include - influenced by his own experiences as a doctor - 'Ward No. 6', a savage indictment of the medical profession set in a mental hospital; 'The Black Monk', portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity; 'Murder', in which religious fervour leads to violence; while in 'The Student', Chekhov's favourite story, a young man recounts a tale from the gospels and undergoes a spiritual epiphany. In all the stories collected here, Chekhov's characters face madness, alienation and frustration before they experience brief, ephemeral moments of insight, often earned at great cost, where they confront the reality of their existence.This is the second in three chronological volumes of Chekhov's short stories in Penguin Classics. Ronald Wilks's lucid translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the increasingly experimental style of Chekhov's writing during this time. This edition also contains an annotated bibliography, chronology and explanatory notes.Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard' are recognised as masterpieces the world over.If you enjoyed Ward No. 6, you might like Nikolai Gogol's The Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector and Selected Stories, also available in Penguin Classics.

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Universally acclaimed as the master of the short-story form, Anton Chekhov begun his literary career as the author of brief tales and vignettes of Russian life when he was still a young medical student. Later rejected by the writer in the same self-effacing way in which he repudiated some of his most celebrated works, the stories in this collection are not only a testament to the early promise of his genius, but deserve to be appreciated for their lapidary vividness and their intrinsic stylistic quality. Mostly dealing with the lives of downtrodden "little" men and low-ranking civil servants as they steer their actions through the corruption and malpractice of Russian public officials, this volume - here presented in Stephen Pimenoff's lively new translation - bristles with wit and humour, and is tinged by that understated note of melancholy and lyricism that is a trademark of Chekhov's writing.

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The 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.

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In the Twilight, the third collection of short stories compiled by Anton Chekhov himself, was his first major success and won him the prestigious Pushkin Prize when it was published in 1888. This volume represents a clear milestone in the writer’s passage from the youthful Antosha Chekhonte, author of slight comic sketches, to the mature master of the short-story genre. This edition presents the sixteen tales of the original collection – ranging from well-known and acknowledged gems such as ‘Agafya’ and ‘On the Road’ to others which will be fresh even to many seasoned readers of Chekhov – in a brand-new translation by Hugh Aplin, providing an invaluable glimpse into a pivotal moment in the writer’s literary career.

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Five masterful dramatic works from one of the world's best-loved playwrights, Anton Chekhov's Plays is translated with notes by Peter Carson, and an introduction by Richard Gilman in Penguin Classics.At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by formulaic melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare the everyday lives, loves and yearnings of ordinary people. Ivanov depicts a man stifled by inactivity and lost idealism, and The Seagull contrasts a young man's selfish romanticism with the stoicism of a woman cruelly abandoned by her lover. With 'the scenes from country life' of Uncle Vanya, his first fully mature play, Chekhov developed his own unique dramatic world, neither tragedy nor comedy. In Three Sisters the Prozorov sisters endlessly dream of going to Moscow to escape the monotony of provincial life, while his comedy The Cherry Orchard portrays characters futilely clinging to the past as their land is sold from underneath them.Peter Carson's moving translations convey Chekhov's subtle blend of comedy, tragedy and psychological insight. In his introduction, Richard Gilman examines how Chekhov broke with theatrical conventions and discusses each play in detail.Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard are recognised as masterpieces the world over. If you enjoyed Plays, you might like Chekhov's The Shooting Party, also available in Penguin Classics.

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Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Set in a country weighed down by political, ideological and spiritual stagnation, Chekhov's compelling early play is rooted in the revolutionary atmosphere of Russia at the turn of the 20th century. Anton Chekhov's play Ivanov was first performed in 1887 at the Korsh Theatre in Moscow. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine, with notes on Further Reading, a Chronology and a Pronunciation Guide.

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This stunning new translation presents the only truly complete edition of the plays of one of the greatest dramatists in history. Anton Chekhov is a unique force in modern drama, his works interpreted and adapted internationally and beloved for their brilliant wit and understanding of the human condition.This volume contains work never previously translated, including the newly discovered farce The Power of Hypnotism, the first version of Ivanov, Chekhov's early humorous dialogues, and a description of lost plays and those Chekhov intended to write but never did.

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Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.Widely considered to be one of greatest ever writers of the form, Anton Chekhov's short stories offer unforgettable character, crystalline expression, and deep, powerful mystery. Collected here are five of his very best tales, 'The Lady with the Little Dog', 'The House with the Mezzanine', and the trilogy of stories, 'The Man in the Case', 'Gooseberries' and 'About Love'.

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Russia, 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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A masterpiece of Russian drama, now in a student edition Along with Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya is credited as one of Chekhov's masterpieces and a significant precursor of modern drama. Set on a country estate in late nineteenth century Russia, Uncle Vanya is in part a study of the enervation of Russian middle-class provincial life. The major dynamics between the characters themselves are centred on two obsessive love affairs that lead nowhere and a flirtation that brings disaster. Mixing the tragic and the absurd and dealing with a form that allows for ambiguity and contradiction, Uncle Vanya has been deemed "the first modernist play". (David Lan) "It is the element of might-have-been in Chekhov's characters that makes their sense of waste so tragic ...I know of no more moving climax in world drama." Guardian Definitive translation by acclaimed playwright Michael FraynMethuen Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays. Contains the complete text of the play, the volume contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play; a discussion of various interpretations; and notes on individual words and phrases in the text

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In 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.

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While at a party organized by the local landowner for the officers of his brigade, the shy and awkward Ryabovich is suddenly kissed by an unknown woman in a dark room. This unexpected, electrifying encounter, which he relives in his mind day after day, marks a turning point for Ryabovich, showing him that everything in life – joy, sorrow, hope – is equally pointless and subject to chance. One of Chekhov’s most admired stories, ‘The Kiss’ is joined in this volume by six other celebrated tales in a new translation by Hugh Aplin: ‘The Lady with the Little Dog’, ‘Ward Six’, ‘The Black Monk’, ‘The House with a Mezzanine’, ‘The Bishop’ and ‘Peasants’ – making this an indispensable collection for those wanting to discover Chekhov at his creative best.

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"I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'From the supreme artist of the short story, three disturbing tales of supernatural hallucinations, hysterical obsession and moral decay.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

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The first of Chekhov's works to be published in a serious literary journal, `The Steppe', with its masterly account of a spectacular thunderstorm, signifies his maturation as a writer of short stories. While the majority of his tales focus on the privileged classes, this selection shows that Chekhov never forgot his origins as the son of a failed provincial grocer, and characters as varied as the brutal soldier in `Gusev', the downtrodden old constable in `On Official Business', and the bemused peasants in `New Villa' testify to the power and flexibility of his art. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Writing towards the close of the nineteenth century, Chekhov - himself a country doctor - recorded in his fiction the symptoms of a diseased society. The seven stories collected here are a bleakly savage indictment of a society paralysed by spiritual malaise, and morbidly conscious of evils which can neither be killed nor cured. This volume also contains an Introduction by Ronald Hingley. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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This volume contains English translations of: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard, with a new Introduction by Ronald Hingley. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Primarily 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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'Frayn's translation, which strikes me as splendidly lucid and alive ...will be acted again and again' New Statesman In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - perhaps his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces deeply rooted in history and the society in which they live. Their estate is hopelessly in debt: urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, they struggle to act decisively. Originally published to coincide with Peter Hall's National Theatre production in 1978, this edition features the revised translation staged by Sam Mendes at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in 1989, starring Judi Dench and Ronald Pickup. Commentary and notes by Nick Worrall

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We 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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Drawn 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 Comedy

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This 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.

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This collection of lesser-known early short fiction – ranging from absurd humorous sketches to psychological dramas and tragic tales – demonstrates Anton Chekhov’s mastery of the genre, with stories about marital infidelity, betrayal, deception and love in its various forms. Although varying in tone and purpose, what these tales have in common is a profound and subtle understanding of the human condition, in its farcical and melancholy aspects, couched in Chekhov’s trademark minimalist style.

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In a remote Russian town, Olga, Masha and Irina long for life in Moscow – but their plans go nowhere. Disaster, deception, meaningless self-sacrifice – in Chekhov’s heartbreaking masterpiece, each new twist of fate sees the sisters’ control over their destiny slip away. This version of The Three Sisters has been radically re-worked. It is set in modern day Russia, with modern language and it re-imagines the sisters' dreams and the world around them. This compelling version of the Russian classic by renowned Australian director Benedict Andrews premiered at the Young Vic on 8 September 2012. Benedict Andrew's version of Three Sisters was third in the Guardian's top ten best theatre picks of 2012.

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Liubov Ranevskya, a widowed landowner returns home more or less insolvent after five years abroad. Everything appears just as she remembers, but hers is a diminishing world. Her vast and beautiful cherry orchard is soon to be sold off against her mounting debts. The insistent warnings of Lopakhin, a peasant's son turned wealthy businessman, go unheeded, and more than the family estate is sacrificed as Trofimov, the 'eternal student' who hopes to inherit the future, tells her, "The whole of Russia is our orchard".Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Chekhov's last play is a poignant snapshot of the great, slow-rolling change that came to a head with the Russian revolution in 1917. Tom Stoppard's English version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard had its first New York performance at the Harvey Theater, Brooklyn in January 2009, and its first London performance at the Old Vic Theatre in May 2009.

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"Frayn's translation, which strikes me as splendidly lucid and alive...will be acted again and again" (New Statesman) In Chekhov's tragi-comedy - perhaps his most popular play - the Gayev family is torn by powerful forces deeply rooted in history and the society in which they live. Their estate is hopelessly in debt and when urged to cut down their beautiful cherry orchard and sell the land for holiday cottages, they are confronted by an impossible decision. "At the time when The Cherry Orchard was written, the years before the revolution of 1905, Chekhov considered revolution in Russia irreversible and desirable." (Melchinger: Anton Chekhov)

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A man and woman fall in love in a seaside town. The only trouble is, they're both married to other people. A schoolmaster is scandalized by his sweetheart riding a bicycle.A woman falls in love with a series of men, each of whom leave her in different ways. Chekhov's stories capture Russian provincial life in the late nineteenth century while Garnett's translations make these classic works feel as vivid as if they were written yesterday. This exclusive selection by New Yorker writer Janet Malcolm is unmissable for the enthusiast and a brilliant introduction for anyone interested in one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers.

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First 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.

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This 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.

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Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) overturned the dramatic conventions of his day and laid the groundwork for contemporary approaches to directing and acting. Now, for the first time, the full lyricism, humor, and pathos of his greatest plays are available to an English-speaking audience. Marina Brodskaya's new translations of Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard not only surpass in accuracy all previous translations, but also provide the first complete English text of the plays, restoring passages entirely omitted by her predecessors. This much-needed volume renders Chekhov in language that will move readers and theater audiences alike, making accessible his wordplay, unstated implications, and innovations. His characters' vulnerabilities, needs, and neuroses—their humanity—emerge through their genuine, self-absorbed conversations. The plays come to life as never before and will surprise readers with their vivacity, originality, and relevance.

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A 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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A 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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'This beautifully produced edition collects, in chronological order, fifty-two of Anton Chekhov's short stories written between 1883 and 1898. It is a 'full deck', intended to reflect the diversity and inventiveness of the author's lesser-known fiction ... compelling and even graceful' The Times Literary SupplementA masterfully rendered volume of Chekhov's stories from award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa VolokhonskyChekhov's genius left an indelible impact on every literary form in which he wrote, but none more so than short fiction. Now, renowned translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky give us their superb renderings of fifty-two Chekhov stories. This volume, which spans the full arc of Chekhov's career and includes a number of tales translated into English for the first time, reveals the extraordinary variety of his work. Ranging from the farcically comic to the darkly complex, the stories are populated by a remarkable range of characters who come from all parts of Russia, all walks of life, and who, taken together, have democratized the short story. This is a collection that promises profound delight.'The premier Russian-to-English translators of the era' The New Yorker'The reinventors of the classic Russian novel for our times' PEN/Book of the Month Translation Prize Citation

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A unique collection of everything that Chekhov wrote about the theatre. Chekhov started writing about theatre in newspaper articles and in his own letters even before he began writing plays. Later, he wrote in detail about his own plays to his lifelong friend and mentor Alexei Suvorin, his wife and leading actress, Olga Knipper, and to the two directors of the Moscow Art Theatre, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. Collected for this volume, these writings reveal Chekhov's instinctive curiosity about the way theatre works – and his concerns about how best to realise his own intentions as a playwright. Often peppery, passionate, even distraught, as he feels his plays misinterpreted or undermined, Chekhov comes over in these pages as a true man of the theatre.

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