{"product_id":"forty-stories-paperback","title":"Forty Stories - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAnton Chekhov\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eRobert Payne\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eRobert Payne\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf any writer can be said to have invented the modern short story, it is Anton Chekhov. It is not just that Chekhov democratized this art form; more than that, he changed the thrust of short fiction from relating to revealing. And what marvelous and unbearable things are revealed in these Forty Stories. The abashed happiness of a woman in the presence of the husband who abandoned her years before. The obsequious terror of the official who accidentally sneezes on a general. The poignant astonishment of an aging Don Juan overtaken by love. Spanning the entirety of Chekhov's career and including such masterpieces as \"Surgery,\" \"The Huntsman,\" \"Anyuta,\" \"Sleepyhead,\" \"The Lady With the Pet Dog,\" and \"The Bishop,\" this collection manages to be amusing, dazzling, and supremely moving--often within a single page.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a collection of 40 short stories from author Anton Chekhov, and ranging from the abashed happiness of a woman in the presence of the husband who abandoned her years before, to the poignant astonishment of an aging Don Juan overtaken by love, and many more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnton Pavlovich Chekhov\u003c\/b\u003e (1860-1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theater. Chekhov practiced as a medical doctor throughout most of his literary career: \"Medicine is my lawful wife,\" he once said, \"and literature is my mistress.\"Chekhov renounced the theatre after the disastrous reception of \u003ci\u003eThe Seagull\u003c\/i\u003e in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's \u003ci\u003eUncle Vanya\u003c\/i\u003e and premiered his last two plays, \u003ci\u003eThree Sisters\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Cherry Orchard\u003c\/i\u003e. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a \"theatre of mood\" and a \"submerged life in the text.\"Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them. Anton Chekhov was the author of hundreds of short stories and several plays and is regarded by many as both the greatest Russian storyteller and the father of modern drama. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Payne\u003c\/b\u003e (1911-1983) was a writer known for his novels, poems, and articles. Payne specialized in biography and history. After working and studying abroad Asia, he moved to the United States, where he became a professor of English literature. He spent the rest of his life in New York. A prolific biographic, Payne wrote some of the essential texts on Hitler, Stalin, Marx, Mao Zedong, Lenin, and Gandhi.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.78 x 8.03 x 5.26 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 06, 1991\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51756912378144,"sku":"9780679733751","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/f67ed09d0b258e1a366db7de933e3492.webp?v=1780089083","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/forty-stories-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}