Frank Carlson Library

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a master of the short story. The son of a former serf in southern Russia, he attended Moscow University to study medicine, writing short stories for periodicals in order to support his family. What began as a necessity became a legitimate career in 1886 when he was asked to write in St. Petersburg for the Novoye Vremya (New Times), owned by millionaire magnate Alexey Suvorin. Chekhov began paying more attention to his...

Told in two parts, Anton Chekhov's "At Christmas Time" begins with an illiterate woman hiring a local man to write a letter wishing her daughter-from who she has heard nothing since her wedding and departure four years earlier-a merry Christmas. In the second part, the letter arrives for the daughter, whose life is not what she imagined it would be. While not a traditional story of Christmas cheer, Chekhov's "At Christmas Time" has captivated audiences...

“The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov is a timeless classic that continues to captivate audiences from around the world. An iconic play set in pre-revolutionary Russia, it tells the story of a family struggling with the impending loss of their beloved home and orchard. It is a bittersweet tale of love, loss, and longing, full of humor and poignancy. The play is often read as a dramatization of the decline of the aristocracy and other socio-economic...

The Bishop and Other Stories (1919) is a collection of short stories by Russian writer, Anton Chekhov. The title story of the collection, originally published in 1902, finds the author at his most introspective. Written while Chekhov was dealing with the long term effects of tuberculosis, a period in which he began to accept the inevitability of his own death, "The Bishop" is a meditative story that follows a dedicated man who, in the face of oblivion,...

Strizhin, who normally leads a sober and regular life, comes home from a christening party where he had permitted himself to drink four glasses of vodka and a glass of wine, the taste of which suggested something midway between vinegar and castor oil. And of course spirituous liquors being like sea-water and glory: the more you imbibe of them the greater your thirst, Strizhin felt an overwhelming craving for another drink. He accidentally downed a...

The importance of women and their influence can never be underestimated. This story vividly shows how in 19th century Russia women pull strings behind scenes to influence even the most principled and seemingly unbreakable of decision makers. And only Chekhov knows how to express such delicate matters in the most enjoyable and humorous way.

Madame Nashatyrin is fed up with violent behaviour and foul language emanating from abusive male guest next door. She has two grown up daughters and is concerned about their well being when complaining to the hotel-keeper. 'Either give me other apartments, or I shall leave your confounded hotel altogether! It's a sink of iniquity! Why don't you get rid of the scoundrel?' But as soon as the marital status of the scoundrel revealed she meditates and...

A psychologically thrilling tale, The Black Monk delves into the murky region between fantasy and reality and asks what separates self-confidence from self-delusion. Our protagonist Andrei Kovrin, a brilliant scholar who takes a leave of absence from academia due to stress, and recuperates at the house of his former guardian Pesotsky. He grows close to Pesotsky's daughter Tatiana as they tend the orchard together. Kovrin enjoys taking long walks in...

Uno de los más conocidos e importantes de la literatura universal y una de las manifestaciones más brillantes del espíritu ruso. Esta historia no cuenta un acontecimiento extraordinario, los protagonistas llevan una vida corriente, se podría decir que incluso aburrida. El relato es un pequeño ensayo sobre cómo surge el amor entre dos personas, Anna y Gúrov, y su pasión los transforma. El sexo está muy presente en toda la narración, aunque...

A timeless observation of the human condition from one of the best story writers in history of world literature. Chekhov's stream of consciousness technique that revolutionised modern literature and his characteristic mix of humour and poignancy unite 11 stories featured in this collection. A Tragic Actor; In A Strange Land; Oh The Public; The Looking Glass; Her Husband; Overdoing It; Talent; Anyuta; The Helpmate; Ivan Matveyich; Polinka;