A Chekhov Circus

A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov

Category: Published in Volume 3 of the Garnett translations

  • No. 18 – Ionitch

    This is one of the most accomplished and satisfying of Chekhov’s stories, a portrait of a pinched, gouty man, Ionitch, whose pride prevents him from having anything but a pinched, gouty life. Dmitri Ionitch Startsev, a doctor new in town, is welcomed into the home of the local gentry, the slightly absurd Turkin family. The…

  • No. 58 – The Head of the Family

    This is a brief, searing portrait of an ill-tempered father and his cowering family. Doubtless it was inspired by Chekhov’s own ill-tempered father, Pavel. Chekhov did not write from life, exactly, and the circumstances of the Zhilin family in this story are different from that of the Chekhovs, but the character of the father in…

  • No. 64 – An Upheaval

    A governess is appalled to be accused of stealing jewelry from her employers.

  • No. 92 – The Husband

    A miserable married woman experiences a little happiness when attending a dance for a visiting army regiment.

  • No. 25 – The Lady with the Dog

    Here it is, Chekhov’s best-known story. If you, an American reader, have ever read any selection of Chekhov tales, this one was almost certainly included in your volume. I, too, had read “The Lady With the Dog” (probably more than once) and my hazy, warm memories of it were the main reason that I thought…

  • No. 82 – An Anonymous Story

    A political operative goes undercover as a rich man’s servant but finds himself drawn into the man’s life.

  • No. 180 – Volodya

    A shy, depressed teenager blurts out his love for an older woman.

  • No. 158 – A Doctor’s Visit

    A young woman languishes in the unhealthy environment of a factory town.