Other editions of book Uncle Vanya

First produced by the Moscow Art Theater in 1899, Uncle Vanya is one of Chekhov's greatest plays and a staple of the theatrical repertoire. Both structurally and psychologically compact, it is among the most expressive of the Russian playwright's dramatic works.Set on an estate in nineteenth-century Russia, this deeply emotional tale of misplaced idealism and unrequited love concerns the complex interrelationships between a retired professor, his second wife, and his brother-in-law and daughter from a previous marriage. In deceptively mundane dialogue, the characters reveal their private tragedies — weakness and inability to communicate — the failures that lead them to lives of frustration and despair. Nevertheless, Chekhov's delineation of human frailties elicits sympathy for even the most irresolute and deluded characters, and the play's underlying message is one of courage and hope.Essential reading for any course in modern theater, this absorbing play continues to be popular. Students, theatergoers, and all lovers of great drama will appreciate this inexpensive edition of a masterpiece.

Originally published in 1899, "Uncle Vanya" is widely considered one of Chekhov's most important plays. Essentially a reworking of an earlier Chekhov play, "The Wood Demon", the mood of Uncle Vanya is chiefly melancholic as the characters examine their respective miseries and failures in their lives to accomplish that which they might have hoped to. A classic tragicomedy, "Uncle Vanya" saw its first major performance in 1900 and has been praised as one of Chekhov's most important dramatic works ever since.

A classic four-act romantic tragedy by Chekhov, Uncle Vanya premiered to excellent reviews in 1899. Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov is a former university professor, now retired in a rural estate. His daughter Sonya and her husband - the titular Vanya - manage his affairs. However all is not well in the Serebryakov household, with drama swift to follow the professor's announcement to sell his country estate. The result of this sudden revelation is scheming, romantic and otherwise, between the play's nine principle characters. The tensions crescendo as we see what Vanya and others may resort to as the security to which they were accustomed is imperilled, and difficulties thought consigned to the past shockingly resurfaces. Essentially a extensive rewrite of his play The Wood Demon, authored over a decade earlier, Uncle Vanya reflects the stylistic improvements which Chekhov learned in the intervening period.