Anton Chekhov Short Stories v1: Classic Russia Literature
About this ebook
A LIVING CHATTEL
JOY
AT THE BARBER'S
AN ENIGMATIC NATURE
A CLASSICAL STUDENT
THE DEATH OF A GOVERNMENT CLERK
THE TROUSSEAU
A DAUGHTER OF ALBION
AN INQUIRY
FAT AND THIN
A TRAGIC ACTOR
THE BIRD MARKET
A SLANDER
THE SWEDISH MATCH
CHORISTERS
THE ALBUM
MINDS IN FERMENT
A CHAMELEON
IN THE GRAVEYARD
OYSTERS
THE MARSHAL'S WIDOW
SMALL FRY
IN AN HOTEL
BOOTS
NERVES
A COUNTRY COTTAGE
MALINGERERS
THE FISH
GONE ASTRAY
THE HUNTSMAN
A MALEFACTOR
THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY
A DEAD BODY
THE COOK'S WEDDING
IN A STRANGE LAND
OVERDOING IT
OLD AGE
SORROW
OH! THE PUBLIC
MARI D'ELLE
THE LOOKING-GLASS
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About the author
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860 – 1904) was a Russian physician, playwright and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theater.
Chekhov renounced the theatre after the disastrous reception of The Seagull in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text".
Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them.
