"This revelatory documentary biography of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), one of the world's best playwrights, consists of over 100 memories of Chekhov's close friends, family and colleague writers and artists. Utilizing material from the archives and rare periodicals from the 1900s-1930s, this work offers new discoveries for both specialists and general enthusiasts"--Provided by publisher.

This revelatory documentary biography of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), one of the world's best playwrights, collects more than 100 written recollections of Chekhov's close friends, family and colleague writers and artists, such as Ivan Bunin, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Maxim Gorky. Drawn from rare periodicals and obscure archival sources from the 1880s to the 1930s, these accounts, few of which have ever before been translated to English, address his affairs with female admirers, his passions and hobbies, his visits to shelters for the homeless, his support of aspiring writers, as well as his advice to theater directors, actors and writers. A complement to the wealth of scholarly material on Chekhov, this work offers new discoveries for both specialists and general enthusiasts.