Ocean State Libraries

At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare the lives, loves and yearnings of ordinary people. This collection of plays shows his subtle blend of comedy, tragedy and psychological insight.--

A day in the country.--Old age.--Kashtanka.--Enemies.--On the way.--Vanka.--La cigale.--Grief.--An inadvertence.--The black monk.--The kiss.--In exile.--A work of art.--Dreams.--A woman's kingdom.--The doctor.--A trifling occurrence.--The hollow.--After the theatre.--The runaway.--Vierochka.--The steppe.--Rothschild's fiddle.

"After their father's death, Olga, Masha, and Irina find life in their small Russian town stifling and hopeless. They long to return to Moscow, the bustling metropolis they left eleven years ago, but their brother Andrei's gambling habits have trapped them in their small provincial lives. A masterful new translation of Chekhov's exploration of yearning and disillusionment"--

"This volume presents forty-two of Chekhov's later short stories, written between 1888 and 1903, in acclaimed translations by Constance Garnett and chosen by Shelby Foote. Among the most outstanding are "A Dreary Story," a dispassionate tale that reflects Chekhov's doubts about his role as an artist. Thomas Mann deemed it "a truly extraordinary, fascinating story ... unlike anything else in world literature." "The Darling," a delightful work highly...

Separated from her master while out on a walk, Kashtanka the dog is adopted by a circus clown.