The Beauties: Essential Stories

by Anton Chekhov, Nicolas Slater Pasternak (Translator)

A beautiful collection of 13 classic Russian short stories by “the greatest short story writer who has ever lived” (Raymond Chandler)

Without doubt one of the greatest observers of human nature in all its messy complexity, Chekhov’s short stories are exquisite masterpieces in miniature. His work ranged from the light-hearted comic tales of his early years to some of the most achingly profound stories ever composed, and this variety of tone and temper is collected in this essential new collection.

Chekhov wrote stories throughout his writing career, and this selection has been chosen from amongst his life’s work, including many of his greatest works, alongside unfamiliar discoveries, all newly translated. From the masterpiece of minimalism “The Beauties”, to the beloved classic “The Lady with the Little Dog”, and from “Rothschild's Fiddle” to bitterly funny “A Living Chronicle”, the stories collected here are the essential collection of Chekhov’s greatest tales.


The Beauties (1888)
The Man in a Box (1898)
A Day in the Country (1886)
A Blunder (1886)
About Love (1898)
Grief (1886)
The Bet (1889)
A Misfortune (1886)
Sergeant Prishibeyev (1885)
The Lady with the Little Dog (1899)
The Huntsman (1885)
The Privy Councillor (1886)
The Kiss (1887)

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Russia, Russian Literature, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

About the author

Antón Chéjov (Spanish)

Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.

Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.

In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.

Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.

Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.

In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.

Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu

Reviews

[Sophia]

I never would have appreciated these growing up, but as an adult, it was just such a wonderful experience reading these short stories. They will stay with me for life.

[readsoftamara]

My boyfriend really liked this book and suggested it to me. Some stories were less interesting than others, but overall - I enjoyed it! It's written in a poetic, gentle way, while remaining honest.
Here are my favorite quotes:

"And only now, when his hair had turned grey, had he fallen in love, properly, genuinely - for the first time in his life."

"You see them and hear them telling all those lies. And they call you a fool for putting up with their lies; and you swallow insults, and humiliations, and don't dare speak out and say that you are on the side of honest, free people, and you tell lies yourself, and smile, and all for the sake of a piece of bread and a warm corner to sit in, all for some stupid promotion that isn't worth having - no, we can't go on living like this!"

I think I'll reread this at some point.

[Jane Fudger]

The Beauties is a collection of short stories around the theme of beauty, romance and marital neglect.Each tale ranges from the comic to profound, written in a language that is subtle and tender Despite this I found the tales of average quality - whether this is due to the translation I am not sure but they did not seem as robust and entertaining aspect as his plays
Idid like a couple of his stories"The Man in a Box" and "The Kiss" but the rest were rather superfical and predictable. Many people describe Chekov as the father of the modern day short story but bI am not so sure. Although he wrote short stories throughout his life I stlll feel his plays were more successful.

[Tony]

It seems to be the norm now that Chekhov provides both great and simply good—and nothing else—stories. Perhaps it is me, wanting stories that aren’t set in the steppe, about generals in the 19th century, and instead wanting stories set in the west, in cities, with people like me. That being said, the ones that are good are exceptional or at the very least show glints of it. And it becomes evident why he’s seen as the one from which short stories originate.

I must praise Pushkin Press Classics and their translation. Much more accessible and fresh than other translations I’ve of Chekhov that I’ve read.

[Andrew Swenson]

This was my first time reading Chekhov. He’s very slice of lifey, and deep in a very subtle way. Some of the stories were pretty boring tbh but they still made me feel a nice sense of groudneness. Others explored pretty interesting themes (I’m thinking of “the kiss” in particular) but again in a very personal-oriented way.

I also found his humor pretty funny (the guy just running into crowds and breaking them up for no reason was hilarious), and his environmental descriptions added to the setting of the stories in a good way.

[Debs Lester]

When I bought this book, for some reason, I didn't notice it made up of short stories. That said, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of some of them. I like the general theme of beautiful, almost untouchable women in every story and men who never quite get their pretty maids. Loved the philosophical lens and men being in love with love. Also, I liked the depth of feeling men showed, kept deep inside, but certainly felt to the point of pain. Good, but not brilliant book

[George Murray]

Great little collection of heaters. Chekhov’s plays always have such a cynical bite to them so I was surprised to see that in his prose he often allows himself to detour into straightforward romanticism. Even in the bleaker of these stories (The Kiss, Lady+Dog) he seems to have great empathy for his characters, and while he ribs them he does it gently. Also just neat to see short stories presented in such a solid, mostly linear way.

[Ravi Sinha]

A nice palate-cleanser between more daunting, more intense tomes. Takes you to a different, simpler time - late 19th century Russian countryside. Not all the short stories are equally punchy; some end rather abruptly and some never get deep. But given that Chekhov only lived for 44 years, he still deserves credit for penning these stories and other books. The language feels awkward sometimes - it's neither modern English nor classical - maybe an artifact of the translation.

[Heman Lee]

My first time reading Chekhov. This book felt a lot shorter than it was and I'm saying this in a good way. While thoroughly unconnected by plot, the short stories in this book all touch on the "beauties" in life and highlight Checkhov's ability as a writer to say so much about such a complex idea within such short stories.

I will be looking forward to reading more Checkhov this year.

[Elea Kat]

I read these in both English and Russian - both of which were endlessly rewarding experiences. Chekhov taps into the human experience with a certain lightness that recognizes the beauty within it without reducing the pain with eloquence, brevity (I'm lookin' at you, Dostoevsky), and wit.

[Margaret Chen]

My favorite stories were Grief, A Misfortune, and The Lady with the Little Dog

[Euan Thomas]

d.r.y

[Patrick Ma]

Very good, Mr. Chekhov! (Would it have killed you to write at least one story with a happy ending?)

[Hadeel]

***some*** beauty, super dry

[Paul]

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 for this collection of short stories.

[Ryan Coulter]

Really enjoyable

[Caz]

What a stunning collection of treasure. AC is the absolute master of the short story form & this collection displays them in all their glory. Brilliant.
Toast

[Jeffrey Powanda]

There are many collections of Chekhov stories, but this is a really good one, with a selection of 13 stories translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater. All of the stories are remarkable, but my favorites are "The Lady with the Little Dog” (Chekhov’s most anthologized story), “The Bet," and "The Kiss." There's an elusiveness to these spare and impressionistic stories; you can never quite pin Chekhov down to a specific authorial point of view. But there are astonishing moments of passion, boredom, anger, remorse, happiness, and misery, in short, the moods that people experience in real life. Chekhov's stories seem to capture reality while carefully avoiding phoniness or pretension.

Although I enjoyed this slim volume immensely, Chekhov wrote more than 500 stories, and many other Chekhov stories are available on Project Gutenberg. I'll download the Project Gutenberg compilation and sample its stories for the remainder of my life.

[Timothy]

13 stories:

The Beauties
The Man in a Box
A Day in the Country
A Blunder
About Love
Grief
The Bet
A Misfortune
Sergeant Prishibeyev
The Lady with the Little Dog
The Huntsman
The Privy Councillor
The Kiss

[Bill Comfortable]

There’s a lot to love in this book. Highlights for me are “The Bet,” “The Kiss,” and “The Lady with the Little Dog.” Not sure how to rank these translations compared to other Chekhov translations, but they definitely did the trick, and the stories shine.