30 Festive Dramas and Stories

A BBC Christmas Collection

A sparkling seasonal anthology of BBC dramas and readings 
 
Christmas is the perfect time to curl up with a good story, and this cracking collection brings you 30 wonderfully diverse tales inspired by this most special of seasons. From Santa Claus, gift-giving and family gatherings, to an unexpected encounter in a snowstorm and an alternative take on the Nativity, they're sure to get you in the festive mood. 
 
Here are modern readings of classics such as Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Tree', Anton Chekhov's 'At Christmas Time', Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Fir Tree', O Henry's 'The Gift of the Magi', Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Christmas Storms and Sunshine' and Leo Tolstoy's 'Papa Panov's Special Christmas'. Alongside them is some superb short fiction by contemporary authors, including Stella Duffy ('South'), Paul McVeigh ('Daddy Christmas'), Laura Barnett ('Survivors'), and nine delightful stories by Alexander McCall Smith. Among the stellar narrators are Don Gilet, Nina Sosanya, Hannah Gordon, Stephanie Cole and Meera Syal. 
 
Interspersed with these are a range of spellbinding plays, including Rachel Joyce's poignant Christmas by the Lake; festive action comedy Lena Marsh, Live and Schticking! by Jeremy Front; a very unusual and very dangerous Santa in The Morpeth Carol by Timothy X Atack; and Robert Hudson and Marie Phillips' epistolary animal tale, Some Hay in a Manger, introduced by Stephen Fry. All feature star casts including Niamh Cusack, Robert Lindsay, Sam Troughton, Clare Corbett, Tamsin Greig and Joel Fry. 
 
Heartwarming and heartfelt, comic and bittersweet, moving and magical, these fantastic, evocative stories are a real Christmas treat. 
 
Note: Chapter metadata updated in January 2023. 
 
Contents 
Christmas by the Lake by Rachel Joyce 
Christmas Short Stories by Alexander McCall Smith: 
· 'Motordrome' 
· 'The Revenge, or Otherwise, of Herbie Bontemps' 
· 'How to Escape in Gaelic' 
· 'The Colourful Life of Cousin Grace' 
· 'Good President Wenceslas' 
The Christmas Present by Ben Crompton 
Christmas Compass: Series 1: 
· 'North' by Malachy Tallack 
· 'South' by Stella Duffy 
· 'East' by Ruth Thomas 
· 'West' by Mike McCormack 
A Time to Dance by Lucy Gannon 
Christmas Compass: Series 2 by Alexander McCall Smith 
· 'Winter Journey' 
· 'In the DRC' 
· 'Primatologist' 
· 'On The Island' 
Midnight at Christmas by Elliott Kerrigan 
'The Fir Tree' by Hans Christian Andersen 
'At Christmas Time'by Anton Chekhov 
'Papa Panov's Special Christmas' by Leo Tolstoy 
Some Hay in a Manger by Robert Hudson and Marie Phillips 
'Daddy Christmas' by Paul McVeigh 
'Christmas Storms and Sunshine'by Elizabeth Gaskell 
The Morpeth Carol by Timothy X Atack 
'Survivors' by Laura Barnett 
Lena Marsh, Live and Shticking!by Jeremy Front 
'A Christmas Tree' by Charles Dickens 
'The Gift of the Magi' by O Henry 
Get Santa by Peter Gibbs 
'Home' by Christine Dwyer Hickey 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, Wild Honey & More

Anton Chekhov: 6 Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

BBC radio productions of some of Anton Chekhov's finest plays 
 
A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey, drawn from an early, untitled Chekhov play; and one documentary exploring Chekhov's life and work. 
 
Wild Honey - The acclaimed radio version of Michael Frayn's adaptation and Olivier Award-winning comedy, in which village teacher Platonov's youthful ambitions are rekindled when the seductive Sofya arrives. Ian McKellen stars as Platonov 
 
The Seagull - Recorded on location in Russia, this much-praised version of Chekhov's classic set on a lakeside dacha features a star cast including Diana Quick, Alex Jennings, Robert Glenister and Helena Bonham-Carter. 
 
Ivanov - 19th Century landowner Ivanov is in debt and depressed - can the love of a beautiful young woman rejuvenate him? Alec McCowan, Maurice Denham, Maxine Audley and Judi Dench star in this vintage production, adapted by John Gielgud. 
 
The Cherry Orchard- Returning home from Paris, Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya discover that the family estate must be sold to cover their debts. Can they save their beloved cherry orchard? Starring Sinéad Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge and Andrew Sachs. 
 
Three Sisters - Stuck in provincial Russia, Olga, Masha and Irina dream of one day returning to Moscow. But life keeps getting in the way... Hattie Morahan, Scarlett Alice Johnson and Flora Spencer-Longhurst star in Chekhov's poignant meditation on love and longing. 
 
Uncle Vanya - Life on a rural Russian estate is thrown into turmoil by the visit of the ailing Professor Serebryakov and his beautiful young wife Yelena. Anton Lesser stars as Serebryakov, with Lyndsey Marshal as Yelena and Neil Dudgeon as Vanya. 
 
Great Lives - Matthew Parris, William Boyd and Chekhov biographer Donald Rayfield consider the Russian writer's claim to greatness. 
 
First published 1887 (Ivanov), 1895 (The Seagull), 1898 (Uncle Vanya), 1900 (Three Sisters), 1904 (The Cherry Orchard), 1984 (Wild Honey) 
Wild Honey © Michael Frayn 1984, 1985, 2016 
Michael Frayn has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as author of this work 
All rights reserved 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anton Chekhov 
Wild Honey translated and adapted by Michael Frayn 
Cherry Orchard - Translated by Richard Cottrell 
Uncle Vanya - Adapted by Christopher Hampton 
 
Contents list 
Wild Honey 
The Seagull 
Ivanov 
The Cherry Orchard 
Three Sisters 
Uncle Vanya 
Great Lives: Anton Chekhov 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

BBC radio productions of some of Anton Chekhov's finest plays 
 
A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey, drawn from an early, untitled Chekhov play; and one documentary exploring Chekhov's life and work. 
 
Wild Honey - The acclaimed radio version of Michael Frayn's adaptation and Olivier Award-winning comedy, in which village teacher Platonov's youthful ambitions are rekindled when the seductive Sofya arrives. Ian McKellen stars as Platonov 
 
The Seagull- Recorded on location in Russia, this much-praised version of Chekhov's classic set on a lakeside dacha features a star cast including Diana Quick, Alex Jennings, Robert Glenister and Helena Bonham-Carter. 
 
Ivanov - 19th Century landowner Ivanov is in debt and depressed - can the love of a beautiful young woman rejuvenate him? Alec McCowan, Maurice Denham, Maxine Audley and Judi Dench star in this vintage production, adapted by John Gielgud. 
 
The Cherry Orchard- Returning home from Paris, Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya discover that the family estate must be sold to cover their debts. Can they save their beloved cherry orchard? Starring Sinéad Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge and Andrew Sachs. 
 
Three Sisters - Stuck in provincial Russia, Olga, Masha and Irina dream of one day returning to Moscow. But life keeps getting in the way... Hattie Morahan, Scarlett Alice Johnson and Flora Spencer-Longhurst star in Chekhov's poignant meditation on love and longing. 
 
Uncle Vanya - Life on a rural Russian estate is thrown into turmoil by the visit of the ailing Professor Serebryakov and his beautiful young wife Yelena. Anton Lesser stars as Serebryakov, with Lyndsey Marshal as Yelena and Neil Dudgeon as Vanya. 
 
Great Lives - Matthew Parris, William Boyd and Chekhov biographer Donald Rayfield consider the Russian writer's claim to greatness. 
 
First published 1887 (Ivanov), 1895 (The Seagull), 1898 (Uncle Vanya), 1900 (Three Sisters), 1904 (The Cherry Orchard), 1984 (Wild Honey) 
Wild Honey © Michael Frayn 1984, 1985, 2016 
Michael Frayn has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as author of this work 
All rights reserved 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anton Chekhov 
Wild Honey translated and adapted by Michael Frayn 
Cherry Orchard - Translated by Richard Cottrell 
Uncle Vanya - Adapted by Christopher Hampton 
 
Contents list 
Wild Honey 
The Seagull 
Ivanov 
The Cherry Orchard 
Three Sisters 
Uncle Vanya 
Great Lives: Anton Chekhov 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Fifty-Two Stories

'This beautifully produced edition collects, in chronological order, fifty-two of Anton Chekhov's short stories written between 1883 and 1898. It is a 'full deck', intended to reflect the diversity and inventiveness of the author's lesser-known fiction ... compelling and even graceful' The Times Literary Supplement 
 
A masterfully rendered volume of Chekhov's stories from award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 
 
Chekhov's genius left an indelible impact on every literary form in which he wrote, but none more so than short fiction. Now, renowned translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky give us their superb renderings of fifty-two Chekhov stories. This volume, which spans the full arc of Chekhov's career and includes a number of tales translated into English for the first time, reveals the extraordinary variety of his work. Ranging from the farcically comic to the darkly complex, the stories are populated by a remarkable range of characters who come from all parts of Russia, all walks of life, and who, taken together, have democratized the short story. This is a collection that promises profound delight. 
 
'The premier Russian-to-English translators of the era' The New Yorker 
 
'The reinventors of the classic Russian novel for our times' PEN/Book of the Month Translation Prize Citation

This beautifully produced edition from the veteran translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky collects, in chronological order, fifty-two of Anton Chekhov's short stories written between 1883 and 1898. It is a 'full deck', intended to reflect the diversity and inventiveness of the author's lesser-known fiction ... Their Chekhov is accurate, compelling and even graceful

The indefatigable translating team of Pevear and Volokhonsky deliver a first-rate collection of Chekhov's stories ... Encounters between young and old, rich and poor, country and city people mark these stories ... A welcome gathering of work, some not often anthologized, by an unrivaled master of the short story form

Anton Chekhov (Author) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), the grandson of a former serf and son of a grocer, was born in Taganrog, a port in Southern Russia. His childhood was overshadowed by his frightening father, but he was close to his mother. While he was at university, his father was defrauded and went bankrupt, leaving the family in dire financial straits; Chekhov supported them almost single-handedly by selling stories and sketches to magazines. Although a doctor by profession, he soon became famous for his brilliant stories and plays, and is today recognized as one of the greatest short story writers of all time. Richard Pevear (Translator) Richard Pevear, along with his wife Larissa Volokhonsky, has translated works by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov and Pasternak. They both were twice awarded the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize (for Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina). They are married and live in France. Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator) Larissa Volokhonsky, along with her husband Richard Pevear, has translated works by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov and Pasternak. They both were twice awarded the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize (for Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina). They are married and live in France.

Chekhov's genius left an indelible impact on every literary form in which he wrote, but none more so than short fiction. Now renowned translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky give us their superb renderings of fifty-two Chekhov stories. These stories, which span the full arc of his career, reveal the extraordinary variety of his work, from the farcically comic to the darkly complex.  Including several never-before-translated stories, this is a collection that promises to delight.

A Nervous Breakdown

"I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!' 
 
From the supreme artist of the short story, three disturbing tales of supernatural hallucinations, hysterical obsession and moral decay. 
 
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

"I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'

Gooseberries

"Oh, good God," he kept saying with great relish. "Good God..." 
 
'Gooseberries' is accompanied here by 'The Kiss' and 'The Two Volodyas' - three exquisite depictions of love and loss in nineteenth-century Russia by Chekhov, the great master of the short story form. 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). Chekhov's works available in Penguin Classics are The Steppe and Other Stories, Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, The Shooting Party, Plays and A Life in Letters.

Anton Chekhov (Author) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), the grandson of a former serf and son of a grocer, was born in Taganrog, a port in Southern Russia. His childhood was overshadowed by his frightening father, but he was close to his mother. While he was at university, his father was defrauded and went bankrupt, leaving the family in dire financial straits; Chekhov supported them almost single-handedly by selling stories and sketches to magazines. Although a doctor by profession, he soon became famous for his brilliant stories and plays, and is today recognized as one of the greatest short story writers of all time.

The Cherry Orchard

Sinead Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge, Andrew Sachs and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies star in this 1974 BBC Radio full-cast production of Chekhov’s classic play.

Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya have returned home from Paris to discover that their family estate – which includes their beloved cherry orchard – has to be sold to cover the family’s debts. They believe a miracle can save their orchard. But will their stubborn pride and fond, childhood memories be enough?   Chekhov’s tragic-comedy is about the passing of an era and is a timeless study of a Russian aristocratic family desperately clinging to the past.   Among the star cast in this 1974 production are Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Sinéad Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge and Andrew Sachs.

A Russian Affair

When Gurov sees the lady with the little dog on a windswept promenade, he knows he must have her. But she is different from his other flings &ndash; he cannot forget her &hellip; Chekhov&rsquo;s stories are of lost love, love at the wrong time and love that can never be. 
 
United by the theme of love, the writings in the Great Loves series span over two thousand years and vastly different worlds. Readers will be introduced to love&rsquo;s endlessly fascinating possibilities and extremities: romantic love, platonic love, erotic love, gay love, virginal love, adulterous love, parental love, filial love, nostalgic love, unrequited love, illicit love, not to mention lost love, twisted and obsessional love&hellip;

The Steppe and Other Stories, 1887-91

A collection of eight of Chekhov's finest early stories.

The Steppe and Other Stories 1887-91 is a collection that reveals Anton Chekhov's evolution from a novice writer to a master of short narrative form. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by Ronald Wilks with an introduction by Donald Rayfield. 
 
This collection of Chekhov's finest early writing is headlined by 'The Steppe', which established his reputation, telling the unforgettable tale of a boy's journey to a new school in Kiev, travelling through majestic landscapes towards an unknown destiny. 'Gusev' depicts an ocean voyage, where the sea takes on a terrifying, primeval power; 'The Kiss' portrays a shy soldier's failed romantic encounter; and in 'The Duel' two men's enmity ends in farce. Haunting and highly atmospheric, all the stories in this volume show a writer emerging from the shadow of his masters - great Russian writers such as Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev and Nikolai Gogol - and discovering his own voice. They also illustrate Chekhov's genius for evoking the natural world and exploring inner lives. 
 
This is the first of three chronological volumes of Chekhov's short stories in Penguin Classics. Ronald Wilks's delicate translation is accompanied by a chronology and explanatory notes. This edition also contains an introduction and annotated bibliography by internationally renowned Chekhov scholar Donald Rayfield. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard' are recognised as masterpieces the world over. 
 
If you enjoyed The Steppe, you might like Chekhov's The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, also available in Penguin Classics.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian physician and writer of short stories and plays, including the masterpieces: 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard'. 
Ronald Wilks has translated many Russian works of literature including, for Penguin, those of Gorky, Sologub, Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Chekhov. 
Donald Rayfield is Professor of Russian at Queen Mary & Westfield College, London and author of the acclaimed biography 'Anton Chekhov: A Life'

This collection of Chekhov's finest early writing reveals a young writer mastering the art of the short story. 'The Steppe', which established his reputation, is the unforgettable tale of a boy's journey to a new school in Kiev, travelling through majestic landscapes towards an unknown destiny. 'Gusev' depicts an ocean voyage, where the sea takes on a terrifying, primeval power; 'The Kiss' portrays a shy soldier's failed romantic encounter; and in 'The Duel' two men's enmity ends in farce. Haunting and highly atmospheric, all the stories in this volume show a writer emerging from the shadow of his masters - Tolstoy, Turgenev and Gogol - and discovering his own voice. They also illustrate Chekhov's genius for evoking the natural world and exploring inner lives.

Plays

A collection of Chekhov's dramatic masterpieces

Five masterful dramatic works from one of the world's best-loved playwrights, Anton Chekhov's Plays is translated with notes by Peter Carson, and an introduction by Richard Gilman in Penguin Classics. 
 
At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by formulaic melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare the everyday lives, loves and yearnings of ordinary people. Ivanov depicts a man stifled by inactivity and lost idealism, and The Seagull contrasts a young man's selfish romanticism with the stoicism of a woman cruelly abandoned by her lover. With 'the scenes from country life' of Uncle Vanya, his first fully mature play, Chekhov developed his own unique dramatic world, neither tragedy nor comedy. In Three Sisters the Prozorov sisters endlessly dream of going to Moscow to escape the monotony of provincial life, while his comedy The Cherry Orchard portrays characters futilely clinging to the past as their land is sold from underneath them. 
 
Peter Carson's moving translations convey Chekhov's subtle blend of comedy, tragedy and psychological insight. In his introduction, Richard Gilman examines how Chekhov broke with theatrical conventions and discusses each play in detail. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard are recognised as masterpieces the world over. 
 
If you enjoyed Plays, you might like Chekhov's The Shooting Party, also available in Penguin Classics.

At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by formulaic melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare the everyday lives, loves and yearnings of ordinary people. Ivanov depicts a man stifled by inactivity and lost idealism, and The Seagull contrasts a young man's selfish romanticism with the stoicism of a woman cruelly abandoned by her lover. With 'the scenes from country life' of Uncle Vanya, his first fully mature play, Chekhov developed his own unique dramatic world, neither tragedy nor comedy. In Three Sisters the Prozorov sisters endlessly dream of going to Moscow to escape the monotony of provincial life, while his comedy The Cherry Orchard portrays characters futilely clinging to the past as their land is sold from underneath them.

Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895

A collection of nine of Chekhov's short stories from the middle period of his life

Ward No. 6 and Other Stories 1892-1895 collects stories which show Anton Chekhov beginning to confront complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions in his short fiction. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with notes by Ronald Wilks, and an introduction by J. Douglas Clayton. 
 
These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career include - influenced by his own experiences as a doctor - 'Ward No. 6', a savage indictment of the medical profession set in a mental hospital; 'The Black Monk', portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity; 'Murder', in which religious fervour leads to violence; while in 'The Student', Chekhov's favourite story, a young man recounts a tale from the gospels and undergoes a spiritual epiphany. In all the stories collected here, Chekhov's characters face madness, alienation and frustration before they experience brief, ephemeral moments of insight, often earned at great cost, where they confront the reality of their existence. 
 
This is the second in three chronological volumes of Chekhov's short stories in Penguin Classics. Ronald Wilks's lucid translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the increasingly experimental style of Chekhov's writing during this time. This edition also contains an annotated bibliography, chronology and explanatory notes. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard' are recognised as masterpieces the world over. 
 
If you enjoyed Ward No. 6, you might like Nikolai Gogol's The Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector and Selected Stories, also available in Penguin Classics.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), the grandson of a former serf and son of a grocer, was born in Taganrog, a port in Southern Russia. His childhood was overshadowed by his frightening father, but he was close to his mother. While he was at university, his father was defrauded and went bankrupt, leaving the family in dire financial straits; Chekhov supported them almost single-handedly by selling stories and sketches to magazines. Although a doctor by profession, he soon became famous for his brilliant stories and plays, and is today recognized as one of the greatest short story writers of all time.

These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career show him exploring complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions. Influenced by his own experiences as a doctor, 'Ward No. 6', set in a mental hospital, is a savage indictment of the medical profession. 'The Black Monk', portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity; in 'Murder', religious fervour leads to violence; while in 'The Student', Chekhov's favourite story, a young man recounts a tale from the gospels and undergoes a spiritual epiphany. In all the stories collected here, Chekhov's characters face madness, alienation and frustration before they experience brief, ephemeral moments of insight, often earned at great cost, where they confront the reality of their existence.

The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904

A collection of Chekhov's latest and haunting short stories

The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories 1896-1904 is an enchanting collection of tales which showcase Anton Chekhov at the height of his power as a writer. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by Ronald Wilks with an introduction by Paul Debreczeny. 
 
In the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces, and some of the most highly-regarded works in Russian literature. The poignant 'The Lady with the Little Dog' and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as 'Peasants', 'The House with the Mezzanine' and 'My Life' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship. With the works collected here, Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier tales - developing a broader range of characters and subject matter, while forging the spare minimalist style that would inspire such modern short-story writers as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. 
 
Ronald Wilks's translation is accompanied by an introduction in which Paul Debreczeny discusses the themes that Chekhov adopted in his mature work. This edition also includes a publishing history and notes for each story, a chronology and further reading. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard are recognised as masterpieces the world over. 
 
If you enjoyed The Lady with the Little Dog you might like Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories, also available in Penguin Classics.

In the final years of his life, Chekhov had reached the height of his powers as a dramatist, and also produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces. The poignant 'The Lady with the Little Dog' and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as 'Peasants', 'The House with the Mezzanine' and 'My Life' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship. With the works collected here, Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier tales - developing a broader range of characters and subject matter, while forging the spare minimalist style that would inspire such modern short-story writers as Hemingway and Faulkner.

The Shooting Party

New to Penguin Classics, this is Chekhov's only full-length novel

Anton Chekhov's only full-length novel, this Penguin Classics edition of The Shooting Party is translated and edited by Ronald Wilks, with an introduction by John Sutherland. 
 
The Shooting Party centres on Olga, the pretty young daughter of a drunken forester on a country estate, and her fateful relationships with the men in her life. Adored by Urbenin, the estate manager, whom she marries to escape the poverty of her home, she is also desired by the dissolute Count Karneyev and by Zinovyev, a magistrate, who knows the secret misery of her marriage. When an attempt is made on Olga's life in the woods, it seems impossible to discover the perpetrator in an impenetrable web of lust, deceit, loathing and double-dealing. One of Chekhov's earliest experiments in fiction combines the classic elements of a gripping mysterywith a short story of corruption, concealed love and fatal jealousy. 
 
Ronald Wilks's brilliant new translation of this work is the first in over seventy years. It brilliantly captures the immediacy of the dialogue that Chekhov was later to develop into his great dramas. This edition also includes an introduction by John Sutherland, suggestions for further reading and explanatory notes. 
 
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born in Taganrog, a port on the sea of Azov. In 1879 he travelled to Moscow, where he entered the medical faculty of the university, graduating in 1884. During his university years, he supported his family by contributing humorous stories and sketches to magazines. He published his first volume of stories, Motley Tales, in 1886, and a year later his second volume In the Twilight, for which he received the Pushkin Prize. Today his plays, including 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard' are recognised as masterpieces the world over. 
 
If you enjoyed The Shooting Party, you might like Chekhov's Plays, also available in Penguin Classics.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian physician and writer of short stories and plays, including the masterpieces: 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull', and 'The Cherry Orchard'. 
 
 
Ronald Wilks has translated many Russian works of literature including, for Penguin, those of Gorky, Sologub, Tolstoy, and Pushkin. He is the translator of our three volumes of Chekhov's short stories. 
John Sutherland teaches English at University College London and at Caltech. He is the author of several volumes of literary puzzles, including Was Heathcliffe a Murderer? His Life of Stephen Spender will be published in May 2004.

When a young woman dies during a shooting party at the country estate of a dissolute count, a magistrate is called upon to investigate.   The mystery deepens and suspicion falls more widely as it emerges that the dead woman was at the centre of a tangled web of relationships: with her elderly husband, with the lecherous count, and with the magistrate himself...

A Life in Letters

Published to mark the centenary of Chekhov's death in July

From the teenager in provincial Russia in 1875 to his premature death in Germany in 1904, Chekhov wrote over 4,500 letters to a range of correspondents, including family and friends, his publisher and fellow writers - not to mention actresses.  These letters tell the story of Chekhov's life as a man and a writer and he emerges from them as a tough, generous, life-enhancing, and enigmatic character.

My Life And Other Stories

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

The Steppe And Other Stories

Primarily known as a dramatist, Chekhov also wrote short stories. This selection of his work includes &quot;The Swedish Match&quot;, &quot;Easter Eve&quot;, &quot;Mire&quot;, &quot;On the Road&quot;, &quot;Verotchka&quot;, &quot;Volodya&quot;, &quot;The Kiss&quot;, &quot;Sleepy&quot; and &quot;The Steppe&quot;.

Anton Chekhov

Ronald Wilks

Widely considered to be one of greatest ever writers of the form, Anton Chekhov's short stories offer unforgettable character, crystalline expression, and a beautiful, quiet uncertainty. Collected here are five of his very best tales: 'The Lady with the Little Dog', 'The House with the Mezzanine', and the trilogy of stories, 'The Man in the Case', 'Gooseberries' and 'About Love'.

Anton Chekhov

Books by Anton Chekhov

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