Other editions of book The Chorus Girl and Other Stories

"The Chorus Girl and Other Stories" is a classic collection of short stories by short story master Anton Chekhov. Included here in this volume are the following tales: The Chorus Girl, Verotchka, My Life, At a Country House, A Father, On the Road, Rothschild's Fiddle, Ivan Matveyitch, Zinotchka, Bad Weather, A Gentleman Friend, and A Trivial Incident.

The Chorus Girl and Other Stories is a collection of 11 short stories and My Life, one of Chekhov’s five novellas. Nine of the stories were written in 1886 and 1887 when Chekhov was in his twenties. “At a Country House” and “Rothschild’s Fiddle” were written in 1894 and “My Life” was published in 1896. Three of these stories – “The Chorus Girl”, “Rothschild’s Fiddle”, and “A Gentleman Friend” - are consistently ranked among the Chekhov’s best. Throughout we see Chekhov’s ability to quickly set the scene, sketch portraits of the characters, and set events in their natural motions. Often a character has a change of heart or circumstances that lead to a surprise twist. One imagines that Chekhov’s training as a physician is put to good use in the service of literature, as he proceeds to diagnose the ailments of character and dissect the anatomy of human relationships with a the deft hand of a surgeon.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) may have suffered an untimely death, but he squeezed the most out of his 44 years of life. Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be one of the greatest writers in history, particularly in the genre of short stories. Chekhov’s major innovation near the end of the 19th century was in what became known as “stream-of-consciousness” writing, in which he eschewed common traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Renowned writers like James Joyce and William Faulkner would eventually run with this theme, producing classics in the same vein. Chekhov was one of Russia’s most famous and popular writers in his time, producing well-received works like The Lady with the Dog and The Bishop.

Pasha, the chorus girl of the title, is an aging ingénue who is suddenly confronted by the slim, prim and intimidating wife of one of her legion of gift-bearing admirers. Out of guilt and sentimentality, Pasha accedes to the aggrieved wife's demand to return all of the gifts that her husband has given, although this unfaithful husband among the many has given her only two inexpensive items. Not long after the husband arrives at Pasha's flat to discover that his wife has been there and learned of his infidelity, the chorus girl keenly regrets her actions and the tragic-comedy of her life. The dozen stories in this collection also include "Rothschild's Fiddle," which tells the story of Yakov Ivanov, a village undertaker who realizes too late what an angry, hate-filled life he has led, and whose violin lives on after his death. Translator Constance Garnett was a contemporary of Chekhov's, and while her translations of other nineteenth-century Russian authors have sometimes been faulted, her carefully-chosen translations provide near-contemporary English versions of Chekhov's elegant language and incomparable imagery.

"The Chorus Girl and Other Stories" is a classic collection of short stories by short story master Anton Chekhov. Included here in this volume are the following tales: The Chorus Girl, Verotchka, My Life, At a Country House, A Father, On the Road, Rothschild's Fiddle, Ivan Matveyitch, Zinotchka, Bad Weather, A Gentleman Friend, and A Trivial Incident.