Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Chekhov: Eleven Stories

Rate this book
In this second collection in Oxford Paperbacks of stories drawn from Ronald Hingley's multi-volume Oxford Chekhov, appear eleven more masterpieces of the short story genre. His Wife, A Lady with a Dog. The Duel, A Hard Case, Gooseberries, Concerning Love. Peasants, Angel, The Russian Master, Terror, The Order of St Anne, all demonstrate in prose the same subtlety of method and depth Qt purpose which characterize Chekhov's plays.

Table of Contents
His wife.
A lady with a dog.
The duel.
A hard case.
Gooseberries.
Concerning love.
Peasants.
Angel.
The Russian Master.
Terror.
The Order of St. Anne.

225 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1975

10 people want to read

About the author

Anton Chekhov

5,967 books9,782 followers
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

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
8 (28%)
4 stars
16 (57%)
3 stars
4 (14%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Roxana Lazar.
15 reviews
October 22, 2024
Read three of Chekhov’s short stories: His wife, A lady with a dog, and the Duel
Profile Image for Stéphanie.
126 reviews13 followers
February 28, 2024
Ayyyy Chekhov, ma découverte merveilleuse! Qui eut cru que ces onze nouvelles écrites dans une Russie des années 1890 toucheraient ainsi mon coeur. J'ai tout aimé: le ton méthodique, détaché, sans jugement, pessimiste mais pas triste, plein de compassion. Bref mais loin d'être fragmenté, incomplet ou brouillon, Chekhov est maître du réalisme en rendant ses personnages attachants à travers leur misère, leurs souffrances, leurs bonheurs, leur rationnel jamais idolâtré ou sublimé, juste 𝘷𝘳𝘢𝘪.

À cette expérience littéraire délicieuse se joignent l'imprévu visionnement de la pièce Oncle Vanya (Avec Andrew Scott qui interprète magistralement genre 8 personnages seul sur scène. Je ne peux recommander suffisamment cette pièce.) et, bientôt, de La Mouette, aussi au théâtre. Comment ça s'appelle déjà, ce phénomène où du moment où tu apprends un nouveau mot/découvre un nouvel artiste, tu te mets à le voir partout? Je peux donc baigner encore un peu dans l'univers de Chekhov... Quel privilège que de pouvoir se plonger ainsi en quelques semaines dans l'oeuvre d'un auteur via différents médiums. J'en ai encore pas mal à découvrir, et ça c'est une belle petite joie.
Profile Image for Mari.
275 reviews3 followers
April 23, 2024
Interesting stories that capture the moment and the psychology of the characters. A few in the middle felt a bit tedious to me, to the point that I set the book down for several months before finishing it.
Profile Image for Kecia.
911 reviews
August 21, 2007
Amazing! Checkov wrote these stories in Russia in the 1890s but they ring true today in the good ole USA. My favorites were Terror and A Lady with a Dog. It makes me wonder do we relate to these stories because they are universally human or is it because 19th century Russia and 21st century America are both fat and happy societies?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.