" Chekhov is one of the few indispensable writers " said Susan Sontag. "His stories which deluge us with feeling make feeling more intelligent; more magnanimous. He is an artist of our moral maturity." This volume presents forty-two of Chekhov's later short stories written between 1888 and 1903 in acclaimed translations by Constance Garnett and chosen by Shelby Foote. Among the most outstanding are "A Dreary Story " a dispassionate tale that reflects Chekhov's doubts about his role as an artist. Thomas Mann deemed it "a truly extraordinary fascinating story . . . unlike anything else in world literature." "The Darling " a delightful work highly admired by Tolstoy offers comic proof that life has no meaning without love. And in "The Lady with the Dog " which Vladimir Nabokov called "one of the greatest stories ever written " a chance affair takes possession of a bored young woman and a cynical roué changing their lives forever. Also included in this collection are the famous trilogy "The Man in a Case " "Gooseberries " and "About Love " as well as "Sleepy " "The Horse-Stealers " and "Betrothed." "The greatest of Chekhov's stories are no matter how many times reread always an experience that strikes deep into the soul and produces an alteration there " wrote William Maxwell. "As for those masterpieces 'The Lady with the Dog ' 'The Horse-Stealers ' 'Sleepy ' 'Gooseberries ' 'About Love'--where else do you see so clearly the difference between light and dark or how dark darkness can be." Shelby Foote has provided an Introduction for this edition.
