'the greatest short story writer who has ever lived'

Raymond Carver's unequivocal verdict on Chekhov's genius has been echoed many times by writers as diverse as Katherine Mansfield, Somerset Maugham, John Cheever and Tobias Wolf. While his popularity as a playwright has sometimes overshadowed his achievements in prose, the importance of Chekhov's stories is now recognized by readers as well as by fellow authors.  Their themes - alienation, the absurdity and tragedy of human existence - have as much relevance today as when they were written, and these superb new translations capture their modernist spirit.

Elusive and subtle, spare and unadorned, the stories in this selection are among Chekhov's most poignant and lyrical.  They include well-known pieces such as 'The Lady with the Little Dog', as well as less familiar work like 'Gusev', inspired by Chekhov's travels in the Far East, and 'Rothschild's Violin', a haunting and darkly humorous tale about  death and loss.

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Features

• A unique collection of Chekhov's most lyrical stories in a new translation of great skill and originality, published to coincide with the centenary of Chekhov's death.
• This translation aims to capture Chekhov's musicality and modernism by paying special attention to his tone and prose rhythm - closer to the Russian while shaping the prose idiomatically.
• The stories are arranged chronologically to show the evolution of Chekhov's art and include familiar as well as less well-known works.
• Growing interest in Chekhov as a prose writer, evidenced by the attention given to recent publications of Chekhov's previously unpublished work, and the influence he had had on modern writers such as Katherine Mansfield, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver.

ABOUT THE SERIES

For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Huntsman
On the Road
The Letter
Fortune
Gusev
Fish Love
The Black Monk
Rothschild's Violin
The Student
The House with the Mezzanine
In the Cart
The Man in a Case
Gooseberries
About Love
The Lady with the Little Dog
At Christmas Time
The Bishop

Anton Chekhov

Translated by Rosamund Bartlett.

Rosamund Bartlett is currently working on a major biography of Chekhov for publication by Simon and Schuster in 2004.  She is also editing and jointly translating Anton Chekhov: A Life in Letters for Penguin (forthcoming, 2004), and writing The Cambridge Companion to Russian Music and Opera in Russia: A Cultural History (Yale UP, 2005/6). Her translation of 'In the Cart' from About Love and Other Stories has been chosen for inclusion in the Penguin Book of Russian Short Stories (forthcoming, 2005).