201 Stories by Anton Chekhov

About Anton Chekhov: One of Russia's greatest writers, Chekhov began his career writing jokes and anecdotes for popular magazines to support himself while he studied to become a doctor. Between 1888 and his death he single-handedly revolutionized both the drama and the short story. Near the end of his life he married an actress, Olga Knipper. He died from tuberculosis in 1904, age 44.

About this project: Constance Garnett translated and published 13 volumes of Chekhov stories in the years 1916-1922. Unfortunately, the order of the stories is almost random, and in the last volume Mrs. Garnett stated: "I regret that it is impossible to obtain the necessary information for a chronological list of all Tchehov's works." This site presents all 201 stories in the order of their publication in Russia.

About the notes: I have added notes to explain both the cultural practices of 19th century Russia and the occasional Britishisms that Mrs. Garnett used in her translations. Passages marked in blue have an explantory note at the end of the story. I am particularly indebted to Edgar H. Lehrman's A Handbook to 86 of Chekhov's Stories and Ronald Hingley's notes in the Oxford Chekhov (Volumes 4-9). A complete list of Constance Garnett's translations of Russian literature is here.

For those new to Chekhov: Reading the stories in order is a wonderful experience; however, I recommend beginning with a few humorous stories, such as "Oh! the Public!" (39), "The Orator" (92), and "A Transgression" (124). Next try one of Chekhov's most moving stories, "Misery" (45). Among the longer stories, I suggest beginning with "Ward No. 6" (166), "The Duel" (160), and "The Steppe" (148), which contains the most famous thunderstorm in literature. Finally, be sure to read the famous trilogy made of "The Man in a Case" (189), "Gooseberries" (190), and "About Love" (191).


"Reading Chekhov was just like the angels singing to me." -- Eudora Welty, 1977


1882-1885

001 - A Living Chattel

002 - Joy

003 - At the Barber's

004 - An Enigmatic Nature

005 - A Classical Student

006 - The Death of a Government Clerk

007 - The Trousseau

008 - A Daughter of Albion

009 - An Inquiry

010 - Fat and Thin

011 - A Tragic Actor

012 - The Bird Market

013 - A Slander

014 - The Swedish Match

015 - Choristers

016 - The Album

017 - Minds in Ferment

018 - A Chameleon

019 - In the Graveyard

020 - Oysters

021 - The Marshal's Widow

022 - Small Fry

023 - In an Hotel

024 - Boots

025 - Nerves

026 - A Country Cottage

027 - Malingerers

028 - The Fish

029 - Gone Astray

030 - The Huntsman

031 - A Malefactor

032 - The Head of the Family

033 - A Dead Body

034 - The Cook's Wedding

035 - In a Strange Land

036 - Overdoing It

037 - Old Age

038 - Sorrow

039 - Oh! the Public!

040 - Mari d'Elle

041 - The Looking-Glass

1886

042 - Art

043 - A Blunder

044 - Children

045 - Misery

046 - An Upheaval

047 - An Actor's End

048 - The Requiem

049 - Anyuta

050 - Ivan Matveyitch

051 - The Witch

052 - A Story Without an End

053 - A Joke

054 - Agafya

055 - A Nightmare

056 - Grisha

057 - Love

058 - Easter Eve

059 - Ladies

060 - Strong Impressions

061 - A Gentleman Friend

062 - A Happy Man

063 - The Privy Councillor

064 - A Day in the Country

065 - At a Summer Villa

066 - Panic Fears

067 - The Chemist's Wife

068 - Not Wanted

069 - The Chorus Girl

070 - The Schoolmaster

071 - A Troublesome Visitor

072 - The Husband

073 - A Misfortune

074 - A Pink Stocking

075 - Martyrs

076 - The First-Class Passenger

077 - Talent

078 - The Dependents

079 - The Jeune Premier

080 - In the Dark

081 - A Trivial Incident

082 - A Tripping Tongue

083 - A Trifle from Life

084 - Difficult People

085 - In the Court

086 - A Peculiar Man

087 - Mire

088 - Dreams

089 - Hush!

090 - Excellent People

091 - An Incident

092 - The Orator

093 - A Work of Art

094 - Who Was To Blame?

095 - Vanka

096 - On the Road

1887

097 - Champagne

098 - Frost

099 - The Beggar

100 - Enemies

101 - Darkness

102 - Polinka

103 - Drunk

104 - An Inadvertence

105 - Verotchka

106 - Shrove Tuesday

107 - A Defenceless Creature

108 - A Bad Business

109 - Home

110 - The Lottery Ticket

111 - Too Early!

112 - Typhus

113 - In Passion Week

114 - A Mystery

115 - The Cossack

116 - The Letter

117 - An Adventure

118 - The Examining Magistrate

119 - Aborigines

120 - Volodya

121 - Happiness

122 - Bad Weather

123 - A Play

124 - A Transgression

125 - From the Diary of a Violent-Tempered Man

126 - Uprooted

127 - A Father

128 - A Happy Ending

129 - In the Coach-House

130 - Zinotchka

131 - The Doctor

132 - The Pipe

133 - An Avenger

134 - The Post

135 - The Runaway

136 - A Problem

137 - The Old House

138 - The Cattle Dealers

139 - Expensive Lessons

140 - The Lion and the Sun

141 - In Trouble

142 - The Kiss

143 - Boys

144 - Kashtanka

145 - A Lady's Story

1888-1895

146 - A Story Without a Title

147 - Sleepy

148 - The Steppe

149 - Lights

150 - The Beauties

151 - The Party

152 - A Nervous Breakdown

153 - The Shoemaker and the Devil

154 - The Bet

155 - The Princess

156 - A Dreary Story

157 - The Horse-Stealers

158 - Gusev

159 - Peasant Wives

160 - The Duel

161 - The Wife

162 - The Grasshopper

163 - After the Theatre

164 - In Exile

165 - Neighbours

166 - Ward No. 6

167 - Terror

168 - An Anonymous Story

169 - The Two Volodyas

170 - The Black Monk

171 - A Woman's Kingdom

172 - Rothschild's Fiddle

173 - The Student

174 - The Teacher of Literature

175 - At a Country House

176 - The Head Gardener's Story

177 - Three Years

178 - The Helpmate

179 - Whitebrow

180 - 'Anna on the Neck'

181 - The Murder

182 - Ariadne

1896-1904

183 - An Artist's Story

184 - My Life

185 - Peasants

186 - The Petchenyeg

187 - At Home

188 - The Schoolmistress

189 - The Man in a Case

190 - Gooseberries

191 - About Love

192 - Ionitch

193 - A Doctor's Visit

194 - The Darling

195 - The New Villa

196 - On Official Duty

197 - The Lady with a Dog

198 - At Christmas Time

199 - In the Ravine

200 - The Bishop

201 - Betrothed


Contact me with comments or corrections at jrusk@excite.com.