Alexander, a retired professor, and his beautiful young wife, Yelena, have returned to his country estate. Their presence is a complete disruption to everyone including Sonya, the daughter of the professor and his first wife, and Uncle Vanya, the first wife's brother, who have managed the farm for many years. The presence of the captivating Yelena introduces tension into the household. Dr. Astrov, a frequent visitor, and Vanya both fall in love with...

Here are twelve short stories by Anton Chekhov, one of the finest masters of what is acknowledged to be a difficult genre. There is the richly comic Oh! The Public, about a hassled ticket inspector, a wry look at morals and manners in The Chorus Girl, and the melancholic tale of a cab driver in Misery. Perhaps the finest of all is the novella In The Ravine, a minutely observed look at life in a village through the eyes of one family. All the characters...

The Cherry Orchard (1903) is Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov's final play. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski-who also played the role of Leonid Gayev, the bizarre and uninspired brother of Madame Ranevskaya. It has since become one of twentieth century theater's most important-and most frequently staged-dramatic works. After five years of living in...