You can see in this casual portrait just how attractive a man he was – just what made him so appealing to women. What makes the image memorable is that, because of the relaxed nature of the shot, we gain a glimpse of the private Chekhov. In 1892 Chekhov was 32 and entering the years of his mature fame and success. The festivities took place between the 26 and 30 June 1892.
The Chekhov family had gathered with friends at Anton's country estate, Melikhovo, to celebrate his father Pavel's name-day. You feel he might be about to say to the photographer, "Get a bloody move on, will you?" And indeed it's quite possible that he could have uttered such words, as we know that the photographer was his older brother, Alexander, a fact that probably explains the easy, unposed nature of the snapshot.Īnd we can date the photo with some precision. His thick hair is tousled and uncombed and his eyes look a little tired. Chekhov appears to be sitting at a cluttered desk or a table, resting his head on his left hand. It's such an informal shot that it looks surprisingly modern.
This monumental edition, expertly translated, is especially faithful to the meaning of Chekhov's prose and the unique rhythms of his writing, giving readers an authentic sense of his style and a true understanding of his greatness.I keep a photograph of Anton Chekhov on my mantelpiece. From characteristically brief, evocative early pieces such as "The Huntsman" and the tour de force "A Boring Story," to his best-known stories such as "The Lady with the Little Dog" and his own personal favorite, "The Student," Chekhov's short fiction possesses the transcendent power of art to awe and change the reader. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the highly acclaimed translators of War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, and Anna Karenina, which was an Oprah Book Club pick and million-copy bestseller, bring their unmatched talents to The Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, a collection of thirty of Chekhov's best tales from the major periods of his creative life.Ĭonsidered the greatest short story writer, Anton Chekhov changed the genre itself with his spare, impressionistic depictions of Russian life and the human condition.
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