Chekhov's Doctors: A Collection of Chekhov's Medical Tales

Literature and Medicine

by Jack Coulehan (Editor), Anton Chekhov, Robert Coles (Foreword by)

In his brief but distinguished life, Anton Chekhov was a doctor, a documentary essayist, an admired dramatist, and a humanitarian. He remains a nineteenth-century Russian literary giant whose prose continues to offer moral insight and to resonate with readers across the world. Chekhov experienced no conflict between art and science or art and medicine. He believed that knowledge of one complemented the other. Chekhov brought medical knowledge and sensitivity to his creative writing--he had an intimate knowledge of the world of medicine and the skills of doctoring, and he utilized this information in his approach to his characters. His sensibility as a medical insider gave special poignancy to his physician characters. The doctors in his engaging tales demonstrate a wide spectrum of behavior, personality, and character. At their best, they demonstrate courage, altruism, and tenderness, qualities that lie at the heart of good medical practice. At their worst, they display insensitivity and incompetency. The stories in Chekhov's Doctors are powerful portraits of doctors in their everyday lives, struggling with their own personal problems as well as trying to serve their patients. The fifth volume in the acclaimed Literature and Medicine Series, Chekhov's Doctors will serve as a rich text for professional health care educators as well as for general readers.


1 Intrigues (1883)
2 Malingerers (1885)
3 Excellent People (1886)
4 Anyuta (1886)
5 The Doctor (1886)
6 Darkness (1887)
7 Enemies (1887)
8 The Examining Magistrate (1887)
9 An Awkward Business (1888)
10 The Princess (1889)
11 A Nervous Breakdown (1889)
12 Ward No. 6 (1892)
13 The Grasshopper (1892)
14 The Head Gardener's Story (1894)
15 Ionitch (1898)
16 A Doctor's Visit (1898)

Genres: Medicine, Medical, Short Stories, Classics

228 pages, paper

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Megan]

Only got to read a couple of stories for my Medicine and Literature class, I will be returning to read the rest sometime in the future

[Tubi(Sera McFly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ward No 6 will be one of the first things that will come to my mind for Russian literature. One of the best stories I have ever read.

[The Reading Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time I read Chekhov in English and did not like the musicality of the translated text. So I've left Ward 6 out because I'll be reading it in French. But Chekhov is a master in describing the human soul.

Intrigues (1883)
Malingerers (1885)
Excellent people (1886)
Anyuta (1886)
The doctor (1886)
Darkness (1887)
Enemies (1887)
The examining magistrate (1887)
An awkward business (1888)
The princess (1889)
A nervous breakdown (1889)
Ward no. 6 (1892)
The grasshopper (1892)
The head gardener's story (1894)
Ionitch (1898)
A doctor's visit (1898).

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book over a decade ago when I heard about it on NPR. I finally read it. It was very interesting. It was great to read about the medical profession at a different time and culture. I would recommend it. I didn't give it a 5 because it was awfully depressing at times and I had to take my time reading it.