Plays

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and Marian Fell

Published August 1967
The dramatic works of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) present the actions of ordinary people. He avoids any explicit political treatment, but the depth and subtlety of his art has generated a wealth of interpretation. His representation of human relationships is infinitely sympathetic, and each play contains at least one character who expresses Chekhov's hopes for a brighter future. "The Cherry Orchard" and "Three Sisters" was first published in this translation in 1951. "The Seagull", "Uncle Vania", "The Bear", "The Proposal" and "The Jubilee" were first published in this translation in 1954.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov(1860-1904) may be likened to his contemporaries, the "pointilliste" painters. Piece by piece, episode by episode, character by character, he constructs in prose a survey of the human condition. as David Magarshack writes in his introduction, on reading these stories 'one gets the impression of holding life itself, like a fluttering bird, in one's cupped hands'.