We’ll be using three stories to think about why Chekhov has been revered by so many western short story writers for such a long period of time. How do descriptions of late nineteenth century Russia fit into the twenty-first century?

It has been said of Chekhov that ‘great kindness pervades his literary work’, and that during his lifetime ‘he was adored by all his readers, which practically means by all Russia’, and that his short stories created a detailed encyclopaedia of Russia in the 1880s and 1890s. What was he doing? We’ll look at that, as well as, ‘why?’ and ‘how?’.

We’ll also think about why, today, he is recognised by most western critics as ‘a vital influence’ on short fiction, and is listed by so many short writers as ‘a n influence’. We will explore three of Chekhov’s most popular stories. Please read, “Kashtanka”, “The Lady with the Little Dog”, and “Peasants” in preparation for our discussion.

These can be accessed for free on-line. Individually the stories are in various collections of his stories. All can be found in, The Essential Tales ISBN 10: 1862073007 / ISBN 13: 9781862073005