Boots

Written by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Max Bollinger

"Boots" by Anton Chekhov tells the story of Murkin, a piano-tuner who, due to a mistake by the hotel attendant Semyon, is left without his boots. Semyon admits to having accidentally taken the boots to the neighboring actress's room, but upon retrieving them, Murkin discovers they are not his. They belong to Pavel Alexandritch, an actor who only stays at the hotel on Tuesdays and who is now unreachable. Murkin is desperate to find his own boots as he has an appointment with a client, Madame la Générale Shevelitsyn. Semyon suggests that Murkin wears the boots that are left, even though they are two left boots and full of holes. Murkin is hesitant, but in the end, he puts them on and goes to Madame la Générale Shevelitsyn's house. He is ridiculed by the servants, and his client cannot contain her laughter. The story shows the hardships faced by the poor, and the difficulties people go through to make ends meet. Read in English, unabridged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Nov 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787243514

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.