Two of the stories have been newly translated for this edition by Professor Matlaw; the other translations, by Constance Garnett, Ivy Litvinov, and Marion Fell, have been revised in accordance with contemporary usage.

The thirty-four stories in this volume.span' Chekhov's creative career. They present a wide spectrum of comic and serious themes and a variety of techniques. (His short novels, available in another Norton volume, Seven Short Novels by Chekhov, have been omitted.) Two of the stories have been newly translated for this edition by Professor Matlaw; the other translations, by Constance Garnett, Ivy Litvinov, and Marion Fell, have been revised in accordance with contemporary usage. Footnotes have been supplied wherever necessary to explain peculiarities of Russian life and the historical epoch.

Backgrounds are provided by a rich selection of Chekhov's letters, in new translation by Professor Matlaw, and by Gorky's famous essay on Chekhov, translated by Ivy Litvinov. The critical essays offer general views of Chekhov's art and achievement and detailed analyses of particular stories. The critics are D. S. Mirsky, A. B.Derman (whose essay has been translated from the Russian especially for this edition), Renato Poggioli, Cleb Struve, Donald RayField, Karl Kramer, Virginia Llewellyn, and Nils Ake Nilsson. A Selected Bibliography is supplied as an aid for further study.

Preface

The Texts of the Stories

 Chameleon (1884)

 Oysters (1884)

 A Living Chronology (1885)

 The Huntsman (1885)

 Misery (1886)

 The Requiem (1886)

 Anyuta (1886)

 Agatha (1886)

 Grisha (1886)

 A Gentleman Friend (1886)

 The Chorus Girl (1886)

 Dreams (1886)

 Vanka (1886)

 At Home (1887)

 The Siren's Song (1887)

 Sleepy (1888)

 The Grasshopper (1892)

 In Exile (1892)

 Rothschild's Fiddle (1894)

 The Student (1894)

 The Teacher of Literature (1889-94)

 Whitebrow (1895)

 Anna on the Neck (1895)

 The House with the Mansard (1896)

 The Pecheneg (1897)

 A Journey by Cart (1897)

 The Man in a Case (1898)

 Gooseberries (1898)

 About Love (1898)

 A Doctor's Visit (1898)

 The Darling (1899)

 The Lady with the Dog (1899)

 The Bishop (1902)

 The Betrothed (19o3)

Backgrounds

 Selections from Chekhov's Letters

 To G. I. Rossolimo (October 11, 1899)

 To D. V. Grigorovich (March 28, 1886)

 To A. P. Chekhov (May 10, 1886)

 To A. S. Suvorin (May 30, 1888)

 To A. S. Suvorin (September 11, 1888)

 To A. N. Pleshcheev (October 4, 1888)

 To A. N. Pleshcheev (October 9, 1888)

 To A. S. Suvorin (October 27, 1888)

 To A. S. Suvorin (November 1, 1889)

 To L. A. Avilova (March 19, 1892)

 To L. A. Avilova (April 29, 1892)

 To A. S. Suvorin (March 27, 1894)

 To L. A: Avilova (October 6, 1897)

 To Maxim Gorky (December 3, 1898)

 To Maxim Gorky (September 3, 1899)

 To G. I. Rossolimo (January 21, 19oo)

 Maxim Gorky·Anton Chekhov

Criticism

 D. S. Mirsky·Chekhov

 A. B. Derman·Compositional Elements in Chekhov's Poetics

 Renato Poggioli·Storytelling in a Double Key

 Gleb Struve·On Chekhov's Craftsmanship: The Anatomy of a Story

 Donald Rayfield·[The Student]

 Karl Kramer·Stories of Ambiguity

 Virginia Llewellyn Smith·[The Lady with the Dog]

 Nils Ake Nilsson·The Bishop: Its Theme

Selected Bibliography