Chekhov in Context

The definitive guide to the historical tumult and complex intellectual worlds that Chekhov both inhabited and influenced.

Yuri Corrigan (Edited by)

9781108842358, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 February 2023

372 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm, 0.68 kg

'Chekhov in Context is an invaluable resource, the volume I wish I'd had on my shelf my entire career.  But it's so much more than the reference work that implies. Exquisitely conceived by Yuri Corrigan and beautifully executed by its distinguished contributors, the book explores the network of personal circumstances, social structures, literary institutions, humanistic and scientific disciplines, environmental concerns, and ideological urgencies of Chekhov's world with extraordinary nuance.  Moreover, it does so not to account for or even to interpret Chekhov's work, but (in Corrigan's felicitous formulation) to 'complicate' it. The resulting treatment of individual works is stunning, as is the analysis of the ways in which Chekhov irrevocably altered the status quo.  The book makes a critical–and inspiring–contribution.  Kudos to all concerned.' Cathy Popkin, Columbia University

Premier playwright of modern theater and trailblazer of the short story, Anton Chekhov was also a practising doctor, journalist, writer of comic sketches, philanthropist and activist. This volume provides an accessible guide to Chekhov's multifarious interests and influences, with over 30 succinct chapters covering his rich intellectual milieu and his tumultuous socio-political environment, as well as the legacy of his work in over two centuries of interdisciplinary cultures and media around the world. With a Preface by Cornel West, a chronology and Further Reading list, this collection is the essential guide to Chekhov's writing and the manifold worlds he inhabited.

Preface: The Poet of Catastrophe Cornel West
Introduction Yuri Corrigan
Part I. Life: 1. Son, brother, husband (in Correspondence) Alevtina Kuzicheva
2. Chekhov's friends Vladimir Kataev
3. An 'Indeterminate Situation': Chekhov's illness and death Michael Finke
Part II. Society: 4. Class Anne Lounsbery
5. Money Vadim Shneyder
6. Politics Derek Offord
7. Peasants Christine D. Worobec
8. The woman question Jenny Kaminer
9. Sex Melissa L. Miller
10. Social activism Andrei Stepanov
11. Environmentalism Jane Costlow
12. Sakhalin Island Edyta M. Bojanowska
Part III. Culture: 13. Philosophy Michal Oklot
14. Religion Denis Zhernokleyev
15. Science Elena Fratto
16. Medicine and the mind-body problem Matthew Mangold
17. The arts Serge Gregory
18. Fin de Siècle Mark D. Steinberg
19. The harm that good ideas do Gary Saul Morson
20. Chekhov's Intelligentsias Svetlana Evdokimova
Part IV. Literature: 21. Print culture Louise McReynolds
22. Embarrassment Caryl Emerson
23. Tolstoy Rosamund Bartlett
24. French literature Sergei A. Kibalnik
25. Modernism and symbolism Lindsay Ceballos
26. Theatrical traditions Anna Muza
27. Modern theatre: Resonances and intersections Julia Listengarten
28. Chekhov's Moscow art theatre (1897-1904) Sharon Marie Carnicke
Part V. Afterlives: 29. Soviet contexts Radislav Lapushin
30. Chekhov in England Olga Tabachnikova
31. The American stage James N. Loehlin
32. Chekhov in East Asia Heekyoung Cho
33. Film Justin Wilmes
34. In Translation: Chekhov's path into english Carol Apollonio
Afterword: Chekhov's endings Robin Feuer Miller
Further reading
Endnotes.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Plays, playscripts [DD], Theatre studies [AN]