Anton Chekhov captures life in late-nineteenth-century Russia with these evocative tales. For example, in âThe Schoolmistress,â a hard-working, underpaid schoolteacher contemplates dating a man she knows is terrible for her. In âA Nervous Breakdown,â an idealistic young law student cannot handle what he witnesses after a night in Moscowâs red light district.
The author of such plays as The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov was also a prolific writer of short stories. His style, as present in this collection, will remind readers of other great nineteenth-century authors such as Guy de Maupassant.